Earthquake in Indonesia: Quake of Magnitude 6.5 on Richter Scale Shakes Part of Papua Region, No Immediate Reports of Casualties

Jakarta, December 30: A powerful earthquake shook Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua early on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties. The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.5 quake was centred 162 kilometers (101 miles) northeast of Abepura, a subdistrict in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province. It happened at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks as the earthquake was centred in land. With a population of just 62,250, Abepura is one of Indonesia's least populated towns. In February, another shallow earthquake shook the province, killing four people who were unable to escape when a floating restaurant collapsed into the sea. Earthquake in Indonesia: Strong 6.6-Magnitude Quake Jolts Indonesia’s Eastern Province of North Maluku, No Potential for Tsunami.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on November 21 killed at least 331 people and injured nearly 600 in West Java's Cianjur city. It was the deadliest in Indonesia since a 2018 quake and tsunami in Sulawesi killed about 4,340 people. Indonesia Earthquake: Quake of Magnitude 5.9 Hits Minahassa Peninsula.

In 2004, an extremely powerful Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.

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