Magnitude 5.4 Quake Rocks Maluku

Ambon, Maluku (Antara) - An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale has shaken Seram Bagian Barat District in Maluku Province on early Thursday, Head of the Ambon branch of Meteorology and Geophysics Agency George Mahubessy said. The epicenter of the quake that rocked the area at 03.14 am local time was 2.74 degrees southern latitude and 128.07 degrees eastern longitude, 55 kilometers northwest of Seram Bagian Utara District, with a depth of 10 kilometers, he said. There were no reports of damages and casualties in the aftermath of the earthquake, Mahubessy said. Nus Mahintirissa living in Piru, Seram Bagian Barat District's capital, said he was sleeping when the earthquake shook the area. "I do not feel the tremor," he said. Maluku is vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami because it is located in Indo-Australia and Eurasia platforms below Indonesian waters. (*)