Strong quake jolts Sulawesi

Strong quake jolts Sulawesi

JAKARTA: A strong earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit the eastern island of Sulawesi on Monday morning, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

Artina, an official with the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in North Sulawesi's capital of Manado, said the epicenter of the quake, which hit at 6:58 a.m., was in the Sulawesi Sea, about 500 kilometers northwest of Manado. It struck about 400 kilometers beneath the seabed and close to the border with the Philippines.

"We have so far received no report of damage or injury from the quake," Artina said.

The tremblor came after a magnitude-5 earthquake rocked Manado and nearby regions at 8:23 p.m. on Sunday. No reports of injuries or structural damage were reported from that quake, epicentered in the Maluku Sea, about 280 kilometers east of Manado and about 30 kilometers under the seabed.

The two earthquakes were the latest in a series of quakes in the past year to shake the country, located in the Pacific volcanic belt known as the "Ring of Fire". -- DPA