Premium
Major 7.3 quake hits remote Malukus in eastern Indonesia
Concrete fragments are seen outside a building as Manado city residents evacuate onto a street after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake shook the capital of Northern Sulawesi island on November 15, 2014. A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake has rocked the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia. PHOTO | STENLY PONTOLAWOKANG | AFP
What you need to know:
- The shallow quake struck about 165 kilometres (100 miles) south-southwest of the town of Ternate in North Maluku province at 6:28 pm (0928 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey.
- In the town of Labuha, one of the closest to the epicentre, panicked residents took to motorcycles in a bid to flee to higher ground, according to an AFP photographer in town when the earthquake hit.
- Local disaster official Ihsan Subur told Metro TV that no damage or casualties had been reported there so far, but residents took to the streets and many evacuated to higher ground.
- Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.
LABUHA,
A major 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the remote Maluku islands in eastern Indonesia Sunday, sending panicked residents running into the streets, but no tsunami warning was issued.
