6.4-magnitude quake strikes off Maluku, Indonesia

An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale has jolted Indonesia’s Maluku, the country’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency says.

The quake hit Maluku on Saturday, but no tsunami warning was reported and there were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage.

The quake struck at 11:51 a.m. Jakarta time (0351 GMT), with an epicenter at 171 km northwest of Maluku and at a depth of 120 km under the sea bed, an official of the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said, however, that the quake was 5.7 in magnitude.

Two weeks earlier, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale jolted Indonesia’s mountainous West Papua Province.

Indonesia is vulnerable to earthquakes since it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region known for its seismic and volcanic activity caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates.

In 2004, a strong quake off the shores of Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 13 countries around the Indian Ocean. Most of the deaths were in the northern Indonesian province of Aceh.