JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit a remote part of eastern Indonesia on Saturday, causing residents to run outside in panic and remain outside fearing aftershocks. Neither damage (except few houses) nor injuries were reported.
The temblor struck about 47 miles underground in Papua province and occurred in a mountainous area, about 35 miles northeast of Tolikara. The quake was felt across many parts of Papua, including the capital, Jayapura, the copper town of Timika and Wamena, another town in the mountains. There was no tsunami warning issued due to its location.
Lots of strong earthquake hits Indonesia because it sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” which is an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. – USGS