The quake hit 112 kilometers (69 miles) north of Maumere, on Indonesia’s Flores Island. The USGS mentioned it struck at a depth of 18.5 kilometers (11 miles) within the Flores Sea at 10:20 a.m. native time (10:20 p.m. ET).
Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, the US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center mentioned, “hazardous tsunami waves are potential for coasts situated inside 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of the earthquake epicenter.”
The head of Indonesia’s Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati, later confirmed a tsunami warning had ended.
She mentioned 15 aftershocks have been reported to date, the strongest of which was 5.6 magnitude.
Those dwelling on the northern shoreline ought to transfer to a better place in the event that they really feel a robust tremor lasting greater than 10 seconds, Dwikorita mentioned.
Romanus Woga, Deputy Head of Sikka Regency, the district situated closest to the earthquake epicenter, advised CNN he felt 4 or 5 large shakes that prompted folks in Maumere metropolis to expire of their properties. He mentioned folks dwelling near the coastal areas had fled to increased floor.
Romanus, who’s driving across the metropolis to verify the state of affairs there, mentioned no buildings or homes had been noticeably broken to date.
Maumere is the capital metropolis of Sikka and the second-largest city on Flores with a inhabitants of about 90,000 folks.
Indonesia sits on the “Ring of Fire,” a band across the Pacific Ocean that units off frequent earthquakes and volcanic exercise. One of probably the most seismically lively zones on the planet, it stretches from Japan and Indonesia on one aspect of the Pacific all the way in which throughout to California and South America on the opposite.
In December 1992, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit Flores Island, killing greater than 2,000 folks.