Indonesia lifts tsunami warning after powerful earthquake off Mentawai

04/25/2023 10:16

The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics has lifted the tsunami warning issued after a strong earthquake struck off the Mentawai Islands on the morning of April 25.

According to the Earthquake and Tsunami Center of the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, data on sea level changes showed that the coastal area of Tanah Bala in the South Nias region recorded small tsunami waves of 11 cm after the earthquake. However, experts assessed that the tremors were unlikely to cause large waves.

The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency initially reported the earthquake's magnitude at 7.3 on the Richter scale, but later revised it down to 6.9. Hours after declaring a tsunami, the agency lifted the warning.

Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicenter of the earthquake was 170.4 km southeast of the coastal town of Teluk Dalam, at a depth of 15 km under the sea. The earthquake was followed by at least five aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.6 to 5.8 on the Richter scale.

There are currently no reports of damage to people or property after this earthquake.

Indonesia - a vast archipelago of 270 million people - is regularly hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis due to its location on the "Ring of Fire" - an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean .

The last major earthquake in Indonesia occurred in November 2022, when a magnitude 5.6 quake killed at least 340 people, injured more than 7,700, and damaged more than 62,600 homes in West Java and surrounding areas.

In 2004, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in dozens of countries, most of the victims being residents of Indonesia's Aceh province.

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