Earthquake of 5.5 Magnitude strikes Sulawesi, Indonesia

An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck Sulawesi, Indonesia on Monday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The quake was at a depth of 12 km (7.46 miles), EMSC said. 

Earlier this month, A shallow earthquake shook Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua, killing four people who were unable to escape when a floating restaurant collapsed into the sea. The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit residential areas in Jayapura, near Papua's northern coast and was centered at a depth of 22 kilometers (13 miles). Shallow quakes often cause more damage on the Earth's surface.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago and a home to more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Basin.

(With inputs from Reuters)