6.5 magnitude earthquake rattles Indonesia’s Lombok coast

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A strong earthquake located far below the Earth’s surface shook an area in Indonesia’s Flores Sea late Friday. There were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and was located 109 kilometres northwest of the village of Kampungbajo in central Indonesia at a depth of 539 kilometres. Deep earthquakes generally cause less damage.

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USGS said there was little likelihood of serious damage or casualties.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

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An earthquake earlier this month rocked the Indonesian island of Lombok, killing more than 400 people and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, according to the government.

In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.