Strong earthquake rattles central Indonesia, no reports of damage (2:05 p.m.)

2006/10/24
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)

A strong earthquake rattled central Indonesia Tuesday, a meteorological agency said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 6.1-magnitude temblor was centered in Sangihe, an island 360 kilometers (223 miles) northeast of North Sulawesi's provincial capital Manado, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

It struck at 11:03 a.m. (03:03 GMT) and was the most powerful of six quakes to hit the same region in the last two days.

Local officials said they had no immediate reports of damage or casualties on the remote, sparsely populated island.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," a string of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Reference : http://www.chinapost.com.tw/