JAKARTA: A strong 7.0-magnitude quake was recorded in the sea north of the big Indonesian island of Java, the US Geological Survey reported on Friday, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
USGS said that the earthquake struck at 4:55 pm local time (0955 GMT), with the country’s geological department ruling out a tsunami after the epicenter was located at a depth of about 594 kilometers.
Indonesia experiences frequent shakes due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, which is an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and along the Pacific basin.
Friday’s tremor hit roughly 160 kilometers northwest of Surabaya, the second-most populous city of Indonesia, which is home to over two million people.
The quake was felt over a large area of Java and as far away as the islands of Lombok and Bali.
An AFP reporter said that, in Surabaya, it was barely felt, but some lamps were slowly swaying.
Klistjart Tarissa, 25, a netizen of Bandung in West Java, told AFP that she was panicked because she was on the second floor and didn’t know whether the tremor’s intensity was getting bigger or smaller.
In Yogyakarta, a teacher who was busy in an online lecture said the tremor interrupted his class.
Simon Arsa Manggala, 33, said that he thought the wind was blowing, causing his keys to rattling, but the situation lasted for a while, and after that, he felt an earthquake which was quite long and strong.
A 5.5-magnitude aftershock was witnessed by Indonesia’s geological department in the same area about an hour after the main earthquake.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said that the tremor is not expected to bring much damage because of its great depth.
Other tremors in Indonesia
A 5.6-magnitude tremor hit West Java province in November, killing 602 people.
Most of the victims of that tremor were killed when landslides were triggered or buildings collapsed by the quake.
A 6.1-magnitude tremor struck off Sumatra Island in Indonesia on 3 April, shaking homes but causing no damage or casualties.
