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9-magnitude quake hits Indonesia’s Papua: USGS

The agency said initially that the magnitude was 6.9, but then geologists nudged it a bit lower. The quake happened at a depth of 24 kilometers (15 miles).

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A 6.6-magnitude quake hit Indonesian waters early Friday, panicking people and several houses were reported damage but no immediate reports of casualties, officials said.

However there were no reports of injuries in the area, with hotel operators saying it was the low season so there were few tourists.

The quake was also felt strongly in Raja Ampat, northwest of the epicentre, an archipelago popular with tourists and divers due to its palm-fringed islands that are surrounded by an underwater kaleidoscope of coral and fish.

Regional Disaster Management Agency head Petrus Korisano told Anadolu Agency that a temporary refuge had been set up for those whose homes were damaged.

Indonesia sits along what geologists and experts call the Ring of Fire, which is a major fault line along the Earth’s tectonic plates. Because the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center isn’t anxious about a tsunami threat today, it seems as if the damage from the quake will be minimal.

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In 2004, a monster temblor off Aceh shores triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Indonesia Struck By Massive Earthquake