Magnitude 6.5 Earthquake Hits Off Indonesia Coast
TERNATE, Indonesia (CBS SF/AP) – A strong undersea earthquake hit off the coast of eastern Indonesia on Friday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage and officials said it was unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 6.5 and struck about 122 kilometers (76 miles) off Tobelo, a coastal town on Halmahera Island in North Maluku province. It said it was centered at a depth of about 38 kilometers (24 miles).
The Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency put the magnitude at 6.7 and said it was unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
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Strong earthquakes with an epicenter off the coast can trigger tsunamis, depending on the size and type of the fault movement. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center tracks earthquake data for the West Coast.
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