6.1-magnitude quake strikes eastern Indonesia

A 6.1-magnitude undersea earthquake struck off Indonesia’s eastern Maluku islands Wednesday, meteorologists said, but there was no tsunami warning or reports of damage. The quake occurred at 5:45 pm (1045 GMT) with an epicentre 98 kilometres (61 miles) northeast of Southeast Maluku district, the Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysics Agency said. It struck at a relatively shallow depth of 14 kilometres (8.5 miles). “We haven’t received any reports of damage,” agency official Fauzi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told AFP. The US Geological Survey recorded the quake’s magnitude at 5.6. Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.