Powerful 7.4-magnitude quake hits near Indonesia’s Molucca Islands

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck early on Thursday near Ternate, an island in Indonesia’s Molucca archipelago, the United States Geological Survey said.
The quake struck at 5:48 a.m. (2248 GMT Wednesday) between northern Sulawesi and the North Molucca Islands, around 127 kilometres west of Ternate, at a depth of about 35 kilometres.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency initially reported the earthquake’s magnitude as 7.6.
Authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for islands around the Molucca Sea, which was later lifted.
Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a tectonic zone with intense seismic and volcanic activity.
On December 26, 2004, a magnitude-9.1 earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a devastating tsunami that struck Indian Ocean countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India, and even reached Africa.
More than 230,000 people died.
(dpa/NAN)
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