The United States Geological Survey says a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Banda Sea on Wednesday, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
No tsunami warning was issued for the quake initially reported as a magnitude 6.9 which hit at 11:53 am local time, according to the USGS.
The tremor was felt moderately in the town of Saumlaki in the archipelago’s Tanimbar Islands, according to the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency, or BMKG.
The survey said the earthquake was quite intense but the people there were not panicking.
A 41 year old Saumlaki resident , LAMBERT TATANG said they are used to having earthquakes, saying especially after they learnt there was no tsunami threat, so life is just normal now.
Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
In November last year, a 5.6-magnitude quake hit the populous West Java province on the country’s main island of Java, killing 602 people.
In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude quake struck the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.