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Just 12 hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake and 341 subsequent aftershocks, another 6.9 magnitude earthquake has struck Indonesia. This latest quake occurred yesterday, Saturday, at 5:54 PM local time in the North Sumatra province of the country.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of this new earthquake was 7 kilometers northwest of Pematangsiantar, one of the largest cities in North Sumatra province, and at a depth of 183.2 kilometers below the Earth’s surface.
No major damage or casualties have been reported so far from the earthquake in North Sumatra. Furthermore, no tsunami warning was issued after the quake.
It is worth noting that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia at 5:58 AM on Saturday. The epicenter of that quake was 68 kilometers northwest of Ende city in the East Nusa Tenggara province of eastern Indonesia, beneath the seabed, at a depth of only 10 kilometers below the Earth’s surface. Following the major earthquake, 341 aftershocks also occurred, though their magnitudes were lower.
Due to the seabed epicenter, Indonesia’s meteorological agency had issued a tsunami warning immediately after the earthquake; however, it was withdrawn three hours later as no signs of a tsunami were observed.
Reports indicate that 47 people have been killed in various areas, including eastern Indonesia, due to this high-magnitude earthquake. At least 54 buildings have completely collapsed, and hundreds more homes have been partially damaged.
Before the effects of that initial shock could subside, another earthquake struck Indonesia at 5:54 PM on the same day, exactly 12 hours later.
The island nation of Indonesia is actually an archipelago of 1,700 islands. Geographically, due to its location on the Pacific Ocean’s ‘Ring of Fire,’ earthquakes are an almost regular natural disaster in this Southeast Asian country.
The most devastating earthquake in Indonesia’s history occurred in 2004. That 9.1 magnitude earthquake and the resulting tsunami caused the deaths of 170,000 people in the country.
Source: Reuters