Strong earthquake hits E Indonesia, no tsunami alert, casualties

JAKARTA - A strong and shallow undersea-quake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale struck off eastern parts of Indonesia on Wednesday, but there were no tsunami warning issued and initial reports of damage or casualties, Indonesian officials said here.

The USGS reported that the quake was also at similar magnitude.

The quake jolted at 17:21 pm Jakarta time (1021 GMT) with the epicenter at 99 km southeast of Maluku Tengah of Maluku province and the depth at 10 km under sea bed, an official of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency told Xinhua by phone.

But the USGS reported that the depth was at 33.9 km under the sea bed, according to its website.

The shakes of the quake were felt in Sorong town of West Papua in the easternmost part of the country, according to the official of the agency.

The intensity of the quake was felt at 4 MMI (Modified Mercally Intensity) at Bandanaira of the province, 3 to 4 MMI at Ambon, the capital of the province and 2 to 3 MMI at Amahai of the province, the official said.

The national disaster management agency reported that there is no initial report of damage or casualty after the quake, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the agency told Xinhua via phone after the quake.

Indonesia is prone to quakes as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."