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News > World

7.3 Earthquake Hits Indonesia's Tanimbar Islands in Banda Sea

  • The quake was felt as far as Australia's northern city of Darwin.

    The quake was felt as far as Australia's northern city of Darwin. | Photo: Google Maps

Published 23 June 2019
Opinion

No tsunami warning has been issued from the quake that struck the Banda Sea off Indonesia, according to the Indonesian geophysics agency

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck the Banda Sea off Indonesia’s Barat Tanimbar Islands, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Based on preliminary reports the quake was felt as far away as Australia but no tsunami warnings have been issued. A number of buildings in Darwin’s central business district have been evacuated, according to ABC News.

“Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat because the earthquake is located too deep inside the Earth,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center stated.

The event, which struck at 11:53 a.m. local time on Monday, was centered about 43 kilometers (26 miles) northwest of Mount Nila, or 454 kilometers (282 miles) northeast of Dili in Timor-Leste (East Timor). The USGS said the earthquake struck about 208 kilometers (129 miles) below the seabed, making it very deep.

“I’m on a third-floor concrete building. Big shake for like 30 seconds, a squeaking sound heard all over. No damage so far,” a resident in Indonesia told the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre. Another resident, in Dili, described the earthquake so strong people nearby panicked.

The larger earthquake was preceded by one measuring 5.1, about five minutes earlier.

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