An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 shook the eastern coast of Indonesia on Friday, the United States Geological Institute (USGS), but the tsunami alert was not activated nor were any victims or relevant damages reported.
The quake occurred more than 600 km deep, about 220 km south of Katabu, on the island of Sulawesi, the USGS said, noting that it was felt hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter.
In general, the deepest earthquakes cause the least damage.
“So far, we have not received any information on damage,” the Indonesian geophysics agency stated.
An AFP journalist present in Kupang, at the southern end of the epicenter, said he saw buildings shaking at the time of the earthquake. The inhabitants, scared, went out into the street.
The Indonesian archipelago is located in the Pacific “belt of fire”, an area of high seismic activity.
On Wednesday, two powerful shallow earthquakes shook Indonesia, off the coast of the island of Sumatra, causing no casualties or major damage.
In 2018, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami on the island of Sulawesi caused more than 4,300 deaths and disappearances.
Another devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck the shores of Sumatra in 2004, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people in the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.
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