AP / Jul 26, 2021, 19:55 IST
PALU: A strong, shallow underwater earthquake shook central Indonesia on Monday but no serious damage was immediately reported and no tsunami warning was issued.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.2 quake was centered at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) about 98 kilometers (60 miles) west-northwest of Luwuk, a town in Central Sulawesi province.
Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency official Taufan Maulana said the quake was felt in many parts of the province but there was no danger of a tsunami.
Still, many people in the provincial capital of Palu ran to higher ground, haunted by the memory of a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the city three years ago that set off a tsunami as well as a phenomenon called liquefaction, in which wet soil collapses because of the shaking. More than 4,000 people died.
``I felt the shaking was strong ... people were running from their houses,'' said Muhammad Rusli, a resident of Ampana town. He said most people ran to higher ground and there was a power blackout following the quake.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 271 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the ``Ring of Fire,'' an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In January, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people, injured nearly 6,500, and displaced more than 92,000 in West Sulawesi province.
(Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/strong-undersea-quake-shakes-indonesia-no-tsunami-warning/articleshow/84760920.cms)