Powerful quake hits waters off eastern Indonesia; no immediate reports of damage
By APTuesday, August 3, 2010
Powerful quake hits eastern Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake struck waters off of eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage and officials said there was no threat of a tsunami.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and was centered off Sulawesi island, around 26 miles (42 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor.
Some buildings shook in Manado, 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of the epicenter, and in the nearby cities of Bitung and Tondano. But Deny Hendrawanto, an official at Indonesia’s earthquake monitoring office, said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Dr. Fauzi, chief of the agency, said there also was no threat of a tsunami. Like many Indonesians, Fauzi uses just one name.
Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that make the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity. A giant quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh.
