Indonesia Hit With Second Earthquake In A Week
Posted July 23, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The tough times continue in Indonesia.
On Sunday, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the country’s Sulawesi Island, sending locals toward high ground amidst fears of a tsunami.
Sulawesi is 1,935 kilometres northeast of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
Luckily, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, but it could have easily been much worse.
Indonesian officials have come under fire recently for their failure to warn people in advance of last week’s deadly tsunami on Java Island. They also initially recorded Sunday’s quake at 6.6 and said it could create deadly waves.
Later, however, they revised their statement, said no tsunami was generated and told residents to return home.
The tremor struck at 4:22 p.m. local time, and Sgt. Daule, a police officer in the coastal town of Luwuk, said hundreds of people there fled to higher ground after the quake struck, shouting “Beware tsunami! Beware tsunami!”
But less than two hours later, word was out sent that no tsunami was coming.
“We are sending a message to the people to go home because the situation is now safe,” Daule said.
Even though Sunday’s proved to be relatively harmless, there remain serious concerns in the region with two sizeable quakes hitting in the span of seven days.
Last Monday’s tsunami was triggered by a 7.7 magnitude quake off Java’s southern coast. It pummeled a 300-kilometre stretch of coastline, killing at least 668 people.
Indonesia’s on Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin, and is hit by seismic activity on a seemingly daily basis.
