Earthquake today: Massive 6.2 quake hits offshore of Indonesia's Sulawesi
Magnitude 6.2 quake hits offshore of Indonesia's Sulawesi, no tsunami potential, the country's geophysics agency says.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit offshore of Indonesia's Sulawesi island on Wednesday, 5 November, the country's geophysics agency said, adding that there was no tsunami potential.
This marks the second major earthquake to strike the country recently. Just last week, a magnitude 6.6 quake hit the Banda Sea near Indonesia's Maluku Islands, occurring at a depth of about 137 kilometers. At the time, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency also confirmed that there was no tsunami threat, Reuters reported.
Since Indonesia is situated on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the country is prone to experiencing frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. The country lies at the confluence of several major tectonic plates, making it one of the most seismically active regions of the world.
Earthquake prone region
Indonesia, a vast archipelago is home to more than 270 million people.
In January 2021, a magnitude-6.2 quake struck the Sulawesi region, killing more than 100 people and leaving thousands homeless.
Another major quake occurred in 2018, when a magnitude-7.5 quake and subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi killed more than 2,200 people.
In 2004, a magnitude-9.1 quake hit the Aceh province, triggering a devastating tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia, AFP reported earlier.