Magnitude 5,2 Qukae Hits Maluku

Ambon, Maluku (Antara) - A magnitude 5.2 earthquake rocked Maluku Barat Daya district, Maluku province, on Thursday evening, according to the local office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). The epicenter of the undersea quake which struck at 06.03 p.m. local time was located at 7.65 degrees southern latitude and 128.39 degrees eastern longitude or 221 km northeast of Maluku Barat Daya at a depth of 117 km, the BMKG office said. Secretary of the Maluku Provincial Disaster Mitigation Board Kifly Wakanno said he had yet to be informed of the impact of the quake. "We are still coordinating with the Maluku Barat Daya District Disaster Mitigation Board to see if the quake has caused damage to property," he said. Located in an area with major tectonic Pacific, Indo-Australia, and Eurasia plates, Maluku province is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. The Indo-Australia and Eurasia plates meet with the Pacific plate and form irregular faults that could trigger powerful earthquakes and tsunamis. An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale also jolted the district on August 12 this year. However, no material damages nor casualties were reported in the August 12, 2013 quake. (*)