Strong Earthquake Jolts Morotai

Ambon, Maluku (Antara) - A tectonic earthquake measuring 6.2 on Richter scale shook Morotai Island, North Maluku Province, at 10:32 p.m Eastern Indonesian Standard Time (WIT) on Tuesday. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the epicenter of the quake was located at 2.62 degrees northern latitude and 128.42 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 11 km under the sea surface. The earthquake location is about 30 km west of Morotai Island. North Maluku is prone to earthquakes and tsunami because it is located at the confluence of three major plates, the Pacific, Indo Australia, and Eurasia. The Indo Australian plate which enters under the Eurasian plate and meets with the Pacific Plate forms irregular faults. (*)