JAKARTA, Sept. 1 — An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted eastern Indonesian city of Ambon early Wednesday morning but there was no immediate report of casualty and material damage.
Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said here on Wednesday that the epicenter of the earthquake was located at 3.32 degrees southern latitude and 127.41 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 10 km under the sea level.
The epicenter was also 90 kilometers northwest of Ambon, 211 kilometers southeast of Sanana, 297 kilometers southwest of Labuha, 455 kilometers southeast of Ternate, and 2,308 kilometers northeast of Jakarta.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arch of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Last Thursday, August 26, 2010, a 5.3 magnitude earthquake also jolted West Southeast Maluku district town of Saumlaki at 9.21 am Eastern Indonesia Standard Time (WIT).
The quake`s epicenter was located 6.61 degrees southern latitude and 130.28 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 123 km below sea level, and around 190 km northwest of Saumlaki, Maluku, according to information from the meteorological, climatology and geophysics agency.
A day before (Wednesday), a 5.6 magnitude shook Sanana Maluku Province, with its epicenter located 0.98 degrees southern latitude and 124.68 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 10 km under the seabed.
Meanwhile, a magnitude-5.7 earthquake which hit Tual, Maluku, Tuesday (Aug 24), did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, according to the national meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency
The temblor`s epicenter was located at 5.61 degrees southern latitude and 133.38 degrees eastern longitude, some 71 km northeast of Tual, at a depth of 121 km below sea level, the agency said on its official website.
The quake was also centered 219 kilometers southwest of Kaimana, (Papua); 320 kilometers southeast of Fakfak (Papua), 342 kilometers southwest of Nabire (Papua); and 2,950 kilometers northeast of Jakarta. (PNA/Antara)
LOR/rsm