6.1 magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia; no tsunami warning issued

Representational image (Photo: IStock)


An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale rocked Indonesia’s western Central Java province in the early hours of Tuesday, according to the meteorology and geophysics agency.

No tsunami warning has been issued yet.

The quake struck at 5.54 am with the epicentre at 53 km northwest Jepara of the province and a depth of 578 km under the sea bed.

On June 16, a strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia’s island of Bali.

Last year, in September, at least 23 people were killed and over 100 injured after a strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia’s remote islands.

In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

Nearly 60,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodation nearly a year after the double disaster, the Red Cross last month.

In 2004, a devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.

Indonesia is frequently hit by earthquakes as it sits on a vulnerable quake-impacted zone called “the Pacific Ring of Fire”.