Quake shakes eastern Indonesia; no initial report of damage

19/1/2020 2:16

        A strong inland earthquake late Saturday night struck Indonesia's easternmost Papua province. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties. The magnitude 6.0 quake was centered 141 kilometers (87 miles) west of Abepura city at a depth of 33.6 kilometers (20.8 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. Rahmat Triyono, head of Indonesia's earthquake and tsunami center, said in a statement the inland earthquake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, and urged people to stay away from slopes of soil or rocks that have the potential for landslides as people in some parts of Papua province felt a moderate tremor for a few seconds. He said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 260 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.