Magnitude 5.8 quake rattles West Papua

JAKARTA: A magnitude 5.8 earthquake rattled the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua, the US Geological Survey said, causing nervous residents to 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”.

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 55km.

The Indonesian meteorological agency said it did not have the potential to set off a tsunami.

“It did not trigger a tsunami,” a Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency spokesperson said in a press release.

The earthquake struck at around 10am local time and predicted to be 26km deep.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said separately that the earthquake triggered panic among residents.

“A strong earthquake was felt in Manokwari regency, prompting people to gather in open fields,” said BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

The shakes of the quake were strongly felt for five minutes, Sutopo said.

Indonesia is prone to quakes as it lies along vulnerable quake-affected areas known as “the Pacific Ring of Fire”. — Agencies