Strong quake hits Papua, Indonesia
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Xinhua, June 27, 2011
An undersea quake with a magnitude of 6.5 followed by a 5.3 magnitude aftershock under land struck off Papua in eastern Indonesia on Sunday evening, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualty and potential of tsunami, officials said.
The main shock hit at 19:16 p.m. Jakarta time (1216 GMT) with the epicenter at 53 km northeast Waren of Papua and with a depth at 132 km under sea bed, an official of the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency told Xinhua.
The intensity of the main quake was felt at 2 to 3 MMI ( Modified Mecally Intensity) in Biak of Papua, the official said.
The U.S. Geological Survbey (USGS) reported on its website that the quake was measured at 6.4 magnitude with a depth of 36.1 km.
Thirty five minutes after the main shock, the aftershock occurred, the official said. The epicenter of the aftershock was at 78 km southeast Waren and its depth was at 30 km under land, the official said.
Robert Waromi, official of Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency in Papua told Xinhua by phone that the quake only triggered panic, but it did not cause any damage or injuries.
"So far, we have not received any reports of collapsed houses or wounded residents. The shakes of the quake was felt here, many people were panic and they rushed out their homes. But now they have returned to their houses," he said.
Indonesia lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called the "Pacific Ring of Fire," where two continental plates meet that have often triggered seismic and volcanic movements.
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