Earthquake hits Halmahera

Magnitude quake of 7.3 jolts Halmahera

Aminy Andawi
Social & Life
Travel
Jul 16, 2019
2536
A 7.3 magnitude earthquake was centered in 166 km southeast of Ternate, North Maluku on Sunday. The quake was strong enough to cause damages to some buildings in Halmahera. United States Geological Survey said that the quake happened at 6:10 pm local time at a depth of 10 km.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that there was no tsunami potential detected. However, many people ran to higher ground as a way to protect themselves in case a tsunami happens. Several aftershocks were detected by BMKG after the strong quake. Many people got panic and decided to leave their homes and stay in government offices and other public places. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported and the South Halmahera Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) is still assessing the cause of the earthquake.

Indonesia is a country surrounded by many islands and is located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” with more than 260 million of population. It is a normal thing for the country to experience earthquakes and volcanic eruption. The greatest disaster happened in 2004 which killed dozens of people not only in Indonesia but also in other countries since it was an Indian Ocean quake and tsunami.

Not so long after the earthquake hits Maluku, at 5:04 pm Jakarta time, the BMKG reported a 5.2 magnitude earthquake at 61 km southwestern off Biak Numfor regency in Papua.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/14/powerful-7-3-magnitude-quake-jolts-halmahera-people-rush-out-homes-in-panic.html

Earthquake , International