‘5.2-magnitude quake jolts Indonesia’s Lombok’

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale has jolted Indonesia’s Lombok, the US Geological Survey says.

The quake hit Lombok region at 05:42:35 GMT on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.00 km, was initially determined to be at 8.3171 degrees south latitude and 116.0328 degrees east longitude.

In April an earthquake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hit Indonesia’s Maluku and another quake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale jolted the country’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.