JAKARTA (Kashmir English): A powerful earthquake struck the coast of Indonesia on Saturday morning local time, with the magnitude recorded at 7.7.
According to the US Geological Survey, it occurred at 5:58 am on Saturday in the Flores region at a depth of 10 km, with the epicenter located 68 km (42 miles) northwest of Ende city.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity due to its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
According to world media, several aftershocks of the earthquake occurred and a tsunami alert was issued, though no reports of casualties or financial loss have been received so far.
Indonesia tsunami warning
Indonesia’s geophysics agency BMKG has issued an initial tsunami warning for some areas of the country.
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake had struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in June.
Australia’s tsunami warning center said there would be no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands, or territories from the undersea earthquake.
In June, deadly earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude killed more than 5,000 people in Venezuela.
