New Delhi: Indonesia, a country prone to natural disasters due to its location on the ‘Ring of Fire’, experienced two powerful earthquakes in the Banda Sea on Wednesday, according to the news agency AP. The first quake had a magnitude of 6.9 and the second one had a magnitude of 7.0, both occurring at a depth of 10 kilometers, 341 kilometers south-west of the coastal city of Tual in Maluku province. The US Geological Survey also reported two aftershocks of 5.1 magnitude in the same area.
The earthquakes shook the sparsely populated Tanimbar Islands, where villagers reported a strong shaking that lasted for a few minutes. The Tanimbar Islands have a population of about 127,000 people. However, there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the quakes.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said that there was currently no threat of a tsunami from the earthquakes, but warned of possible aftershocks. The agency also urged people to stay calm and not panic.
Indonesia is often affected by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis because it is located on an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin, which is known as the ‘Ring of Fire’. The most devastating natural disaster in the country’s history was the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of whom were in Aceh province of Indonesia.
