Indonesia earthquake damages buildings, triggers tsunami waves

An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck in Indonesia’s Northern Molucca Sea on Thursday, killing one person, damaging some buildings and triggering tsunami waves, authorities and witnesses said.

Indonesia’s meteorology agency BMKG said tsunami waves were reported in five locations, the highest at 0.75 m (2.46 ft) in North Minahasa, North Sulawesi and 11 aftershocks were monitored, the largest at a magnitude of 5.5. It warned the public to stay alert.

BMKG chief Teuku Faisal Fathani told a press conference that its modeling indicated there was tsunami potential for waves of 0.5 m to 3 m (1.6 ft to 9.8 ft) high.

U.S. tsunami warning authorities initially said hazardous tsunamis were possible along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia within 1,000 km (620 miles) of the epicenter, but later removed the threat warning.

One person was killed by falling rubble in the Manado area when part of a building used by the local sports authority collapsed, deputy chief of North Sulawesi police Awi Setiyono told reporters.

Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active zone where different plates on the earth’s crust meet, creating a large number of earthquakes and volcanic activity in some of the country’s more than 130 active volcanoes.

The epicenter of the quake was roughly 580 km (360 miles) south of the Philippine coast and 1,000 km (621 miles) from Malaysia’s Sabah.

“Although relatively small, this situation still requires vigilance due to the potential for aftershocks,” Indonesia’s national disaster agency said in a statement, adding initial reports were of minor to moderate damage to several houses and a church, and a fuller assessment was underway.

It said tremors from the initial quake were felt strongly for 10 to 20 seconds in Bitung City and Ternate City and subsequent aftershocks were located in the sea, urging the public to remain calm and follow guidance until authorities could declare the situation was safe.

Indonesia’s Metro TV showed video footage of damaged buildings and a Manado resident told Reuters people ran out of their houses in panic. There was no visible damage in her neighborhood, but items fell off shelves and power had been cut, the resident said.

The Philippines’ seismology agency Phivolcs said there was “no destructive tsunami threat” to the country based on its latest data, while Malaysia’s meteorological department said there was no immediate tsunami threat to the country but it was monitoring developments.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of the risk of waves less than 0.3 m (1 ft) over tide levels for the coasts of Guam, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Japan may see waves of up to 0.2 m (8 inches), but no damage is expected, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, as it warned a tsunami could occur in the Pacific.