Massive 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocks West Papua – sending locals fleeing for their lives after a tsunami killed hundreds in the region just days ago
- An earthquake rocked eastern Indonesian province of West Papua on Friday
- Indonesian authorities said they measured the quake with a magnitude of 6.1
- No immediate reports have rolled in of casualties or damage within the area
- Indonesian meteorological agency said earthquake would not trigger tsunami
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake rattled the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Nervous residents were sent into panic about a week after a tsunami killed hundreds further west in the archipelago.
Indonesian authorities measured the quake with a magnitude of 6.1 and said it was ‘felt quite strongly for several seconds’.
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake rattled the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The region in Papua, which makes up half the island known as New Guinea, is sparsely populated.
The epicentre of the quake was on land near the city of Manokwari at a depth of 55 km (34 miles).
The Indonesian meteorological agency said it did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami.
A tsunami caused by the collapse of part of a volcano crater on Saturday killed at least 430 people when waves of up to 5 metres (16 feet) smashed into the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra.
More to come.