Magnitude-6 quake strikes Indonesia’s West Papua

Jakarta, March 13, 2010: A magnitude-6 earthquake struck the eastern Indonesian province of West Papuabefore midday Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage, geophysicists said.

The quake took place at a depth of 30 km and was centred about 342 km north-west of the Manokwari district, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said. It occurred at 11:53 am (0253 GMT).

It was the latest in a series of jolts to hit Indonesia in recent weeks, the agency said.

A magnitude-7.6 quake struck off the western coast of Sumatra in late September, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring hundreds of others.

A magnitude-9 earthquake off northern Sumatra and a subsequent tsunami that rolled across the Indian Ocean struck five years ago, killing 230,000 people, more than 170,000 of whom died in Indonesia’s Aceh province alone. – (Hindustan Times)