Powerful quake jolts eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA, Sept. 9 Kyodo

A strong undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck the eastern part of Indonesia on Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey reported in a statement.

The report said the quake, which occurred at 12:13 p.m. local time, was centered in the Flores Sea, about 200 kilometers northeast of the town of Raba on the eastern island of Sumbawa, or about 1,300 km east of Jakarta.

''It was focused very deep, about 566 km under the seabed, so it was not strongly felt on the surface and will cause no tsunami,'' seismologist Fauzi said.

The survey also reported a moderate quake in the country, which occurred at 12:05 p.m. local time in North Sumatra Province.

The focus of the quake was 110 km southeast of the North Sumatra town of Sibolga, or 1,125 km northwest of Jakarta.

There was no immediate report of damage or casualties from either quake.

Indonesia, with more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes.

In December 2004, a powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed about 200,000 people in Aceh Province and tens of thousands in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other areas around the perimeter of the Indian Ocean.

An M8.7 earthquake jolted Nias Island, off Sumatra Island and to the south of Aceh, in March last year, killing more than 800 people.

A strong earthquake also rocked Yogyakarta and surrounding Central Java cities on May 27 this year, killing about 5,800 people. It was followed by an M7.7 quake off the island triggering a tsunami that killed more than 500 people.

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