Powerful quake hits off eastern Indonesia, no alert for tsunami

JAKARTA - An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted Maluku in eastern parts of Indonesia earlier Wednesday, but there were no tsunami alert issued and a report of casualty, officials disclosed here.

The quake rocked at 0017 GMT with epicenter at 184 km northeast Maluku Barat Daya and the depth at 173 km under sea bed, an official of meteorology and geophysics agency said.

"We did not issue a warning for tsunami. This quake is not dangerous as its center is deep," the official told Xinhua by phone.

The intensity of the quake was felt at 2 to 3 MMI (Modified Mercally Intensity) in Tual town and 1 to 2 MMI in Saumlaki town, the official revealed.

"So far, there is no a report of damages or casualty," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster management agency told Xinhua via phone.

Indonesia lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called "the Pacific Ring of Fire," making it prone to quakes.

More than 100 people were killed with over 700 others sustaining injury as a shallow-and strong under-land quake, 6.5 magnitude, rocked Aceh province in northern tip of Sumatra Island earlier this month.