7.6 quake damages buildings in Indonesia, felt in Australia

PTI, Jan 10, 2023, 8:00 AM IST

Representative Image (Source: ANI)

Jakarta: A powerful deep-sea earthquake damaged village buildings in eastern Indonesia early Tuesday, and its substantial shaking was widely felt in northern Australia.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency issued a tsunami warning after the magnitude 7.6 temblor that was lifted three hours later.

“Based on four tide gauge observations around the center of the earthquake, it did not show any significant anomaly or change in sea level,” agency head Dwikorita Karnawati said.

Tremors were felt in several regions, including Papua and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.

The National Disaster Mitigation agency received visual reports of damage to houses and community buildings in Watuwey village in Southwest Maluku.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was at a depth of 105 kilometers (65 miles) not far from Australia’s northern tip. Deeper quakes tend to cause less surface damage than shallow shaking but are more widely felt.

More than 1,000 people in northern Australia, including in the city of Darwin, reported feeling the quake to the Geoscience Australia agency.

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake didn’t pose a tsunami threat to the mainland or any islands or territories. Australian singer Vassy wrote on Twitter it was the longest quake she had felt.

“We ran out of the house in the middle of the night I’ve never experienced earthquake that lasted that long and felt so strong. It was rather scary,” Vassy wrote. “Woke us up in the middle of the night.”

Indonesia is frequently shaken by earthquakes and lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquake and volcanic activity occurs.