Indonesians flee homes after 7.3 quake prompts tsunami warning
Epicentre was north of the island of Flores in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, where the quake sparked terror.
People gather outside the East Nusa Tenggara provincial hall after the strong earthquake hit the area on Tuesday [Photo from Marius Jelamu/Office of the Governor for Economics and Development NTT]
Published On 14 Dec 202114 Dec 2021
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, with monitors briefly warning of the possibility of hazardous tsunami waves before lifting the threat.
The epicentre was north of the island of Flores in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, where the quake sparked terror after hitting at around 0320 GMT.
KEEP READING
Haiti: A Perfect Storm
Strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits India-Myanmar border region
Two major quakes hit southern Iran one minute apart; one dead
Strong earthquake hits Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency known as BMKG earlier reported the earthquake as a magnitude 7.4, and warned of “potential tsunami”.
“I was in the field. People ran in panic. I am still… scared,” said Nuraini, a resident of Adonara island in the East Flores regency, told AFP news agency.
Terrified people were also shown screaming as they gathered on the street while the earth shook, according to video obtained by Al Jazeera from Marius Jelamu, a spokesman at the governor’s office of East Nusa Tenggara.
No significant damage or deaths were immediately reported from the areas where the quake was felt, but authorities urged caution.
Play Video
Video Duration 02 minutes 55 seconds02:55
Indonesia: Calls to include disaster education at schools
The USGS said the chance of casualties was low, while noting that “recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as tsunamis and landslides that might have contributed to losses”.
“Everyone ran out into the street,” Agustinus Florianus, a resident of Maumere town on Flores island, told Reuters news agency.
Tsunami warnings were issued for the areas of Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and Southeast and South Sulawesi, after the quake hit 112 km (69.59 miles) northwest of Larantuka, in the eastern part of Flores, at a depth of 12 km.
A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit Larantuka after the first quake, according to reports.
Alfons Hada Betan, head of East Flores Disaster Mitigation agency in Larantuka also said there were no immediate reports of damage and the quake was felt for several minutes as people fled from their homes.
People said on social media the earthquake was also felt strongly in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Indonesia experiences frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions due to its position on the
Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Among Indonesia’s string of deadly quakes was a devastating 2004 9.1-magnitude tremor that struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.
The Boxing Day disaster was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.
In 2018, a powerful quake shook the island of Lombok and several more tremors followed over the next couple of weeks, killing more than 550 people on the holiday island and neighbouring Sumbawa.
Later that year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in
Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
On December 4, at least 48 people were killed and hundreds injured when the Mount Semeru volcano erupted on Java island on December 4.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
The magnitude 7.3 quake caused panic, but no deaths or major damage were reported.
www.aljazeera.com
edition.cnn.com
