REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale jolted West Manggarai District, the western tip of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, on Monday at 11:48 a.m. Central Indonesian Standard Time (WITA). The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said there were no reports of casualties and damages caused by the earthquake.
The quake's epicenter was located at 8.13 degrees southern latitude and 119.87 degrees eastern longitude, some 40 kilometers (km) north of Labuan Bajo City, West Manggarai District. It occured at a depth of 45 km, according to BMKG.
Earlier, an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale hit West Halmahera District, North Maluku Province, on Monday at 00:27 a.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB). The earthquake did not have potential to trigger a subsequent tsunami, according to BMKG.
The tremor's epicenter was located at 2.36 degree northern latitude, 126.74 degree eastern longitude, 146 km northwest of West Halmahera, and at a depth of 10 km, the agency said on its official website.
Local inhabitants of West Halmahera, however, were urged to remain vigilant of possible aftershocks. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.
Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, as it is located on the "Pacific Ring of Fire," where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.
As a result, several parts of the archipelago are prone to earthquakes, as could be observed from last year's deadly earthquakes in Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara Province, and Palu, the capital city of Central Sulawesi Province.
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