Magnitude 7.5 quake rocks Banda Sea – tremors felt in Australia
Indonesia has been hit by a series of earthquakes within hours of each other, the strongest registering a massive 7.5 on the Richter scale, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, and Pacific monitoring authorities ruled out the chance of tsunami.
The two earthquakes hit the village of Saumlaki on the island of Yamdena. The most recent of those registered a magnitude of 5.2 and is the latest in a series of quakes to strike Indonesia over the last few hours. The 5.2 magnitude quake struck at 12.28am local time (4.28am BST).
Leading up to the Saumlaki quakes, there had also been four tremors in Papua region of Indonesia.
The first of those four struck at 12.26am local time (3.26am BST). Although the strongest was registered at 5.3, it was the eighth to hit the region in a string of quakes.
The shaking was also felt in Australia’s northern city of Darwin, about 700 km from the epicentre, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said, but no damage was reported. A 7.5 quake hit the islands registering a depth of 129 miles (208km).
Parts of Darwin’s central business district have been evacuated as a precaution, according to ABC News.
Darwin resident Kavinda Weerachandra told the Sydney Morning Herald that “everything started shaking. I didn’t think much of it at first but as time goes it got stronger. I can hear my house creaking and rattling. And things on my desk started to fall.”
