By Rochimawati
NORTH SULAWESI, Indonesia
Residents of Indonesia's eastern North Sulawesi province ran from their homes to the street in panic Wednesday morning when a strong earthquake struck off the coast, but there were no reports of any injuries.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the head of the Indonesian Center of Data Information and Public Relations, told the Anadolu Agency that no casualties had been reported since the 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurred at 9:46 a.m., adding, "we are still assessing whether there is damage and casualties."
He explained that the earthquake had an "epicenter at sea at a depth of 10 kilometers [over six miles] in the subduction pathways in the East Maluku sea."
It "does not have the potential to cause a tsunami," he underlined.
While tremors were also felt in neighboring Gorontalo province, people in North Sulawesi’s harder-hit provincial capital of Manado dashed from their homes after the earthquake struck around 81 miles (131 kilometers) southeast of Bolaang Mongondow Regency.
Indonesia lies within the Pacific’s "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
On July 2, 2013 the Indonesian island of Sumatra was hit by 6.1 magnitude earthquake that left 35 dead, 276 injured, and more than 4,300 homes damaged or destroyed.
In 2004, an earthquake in Sumatra caused a series of devastating tsunamis around the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000 people in 14 countries.
www.aa.com.tr/en/world
