bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia yesterday, sparking a tsunami warning and causing panicked people to flee their homes.
Small waves generated by the undersea quake were detected in several parts of the sprawling archipelago, local authorities said, although there were no reports of casualties or major damage and the tsunami warning was lifted after a short while.
Nevertheless, the prospect of a major tsunami set nerves on edge in one of the most seismically active countries in the world, almost a decade after quake-triggered destructive waves devastated western Aceh province.
The tsunami of December 26, 2004, left more than 170,000 people dead in Aceh, on Sumatra island, and tens of thousands more in countries with coasts on the Indian Ocean.
Saturday's tremor struck northwest of the town of Kota Ternate, at 11.31am local time, the US Geological Survey said. It was followed by a series of aftershocks that measured between magnitude 4.3 and 5.8, the USGS said.
"Tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 kilometres," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
The centre also warned of small tsunami waves in the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and islands in the South Pacific.
On the tiny Sangihe Islands close to the epicentre, people ran out of their homes when the quake hit, said Toni Supit, head of the islands' Sitaro district.
"People in coastal areas felt the strong quake, which lasted for quite some time, and they immediately went to the sea to see if the water was receding abnormally, which is a sign of an incoming tsunami," he said.
Tsunami waves nine centimetres high were detected at Jailolo on Halmahera island, in the Maluku Islands, the meteorological agency said. Tiny waves were also detected in Tobelo on Halmahera, and in Manado, on nearby Sulawesi island.
An agency official on Sulawesi said early reports indicated that cracks had appeared in the walls of some houses after the quake, although full damage reports had yet to come in.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. and has been hit many earthquakes.


Small tsunami waves after strong earthquake in Malukus, Indonesia

Concrete fragments from a building in Manado city. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia, sparking a tsunami warning and causing panicked people to flee their homes.
