Indonesia has been hit by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake according to reports breaking this morning. According to the reports the earthquake hit off of the coast of the island nation, about 110 km outside of Tobelo. The quake is unlikely to have any major effect on the infrastructure of the island.
At this stage there is not information about damage caused by the earthquake, nor has there been any information about the possibility of a tsunami resulting from the quake. When facts about the event become available we will update this piece to reflect the new information.
Indonesia earthquake
The 6.3 magnitude measurement of the earthquake was offered by the United States Geological Survey. The agency said that more than 150,000 people in the range of the earthquake would be able to feel the tremors, but the tremors will be weak for most of the people able to detect the shaking. Just 10,000 people experienced strong shaking according to the agency.
This morning’s earthquake was not a major one, though it is the biggest earthquake that has hit in the last twenty four hours. A few earthquakes with magnitudes of more than 5 have been reported around the world in the last day, while a plethora of earthquakes with a magnitude measured above four are a daily occurrence around the world.
The Indonesia earthquake off of the shore of Tobelo is not even the only tremor to hit that area in the last few hours. An earthquake measuring 4.3 hit the middle of one of the country’s biggest land masses just over 30 minutes before the second quake hit north of Tobelo.
Small earth quakes are common in the pacific island region. The islands were, by and large, formed by the action of the tectonic plates that cause earthquakes and those plates are still active beneath the surface today.
