Strong earthquake hits off eastern Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A strong earthquake has hit off the coast of Sulawesi island in eastern Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-6.5 quake struck Wednesday at a depth of 22.5 kilometers (13 miles) and was centered about 122 kilometers (76 miles) southeast of Mondayang, a town in northern Sulawesi.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Most of the deaths were in northern Sumatra’s Aceh province.
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