A major magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua yesterday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, sending panicked crowds running into the streets.
There were no reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued after the quake struck on land at 1:42pm at a depth of 75km, 272km west-southwest of the provincial capital Jayapura, the USGS said.
Local seismologists had measured the quake at magnitude 7.2.
People in the capital of the province told reporters they felt the quake strongly and hundreds went running into the streets.
Narsi Bay said she was in a meeting on the first floor of a hotel in Jayapura when she felt a “strong shaking.”
“I went downstairs to go outside as quickly as I could as I was afraid that the building would collapse,” the 21-year-old told reporters. “I saw lamps, tables, and chairs shaking. Some people screamed in panic and shouted at others in the hotel to go outside.”
Suharjono, from the country’s meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told reporters that the quake was felt most strongly in Mulia City, Puncak Jaya District.
It was strong enough to “wake people who are sleeping and break windows, but it won’t cause buildings to collapse,” he said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that the quake had not generated a tsunami.
“The quake happened on land, there is no tsunami threat,” an official from the Indonesian agency told reporters.
He added that the agency had not received any reports of damage.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
A massive quake struck off Aceh in 2004, sparking a tsunami that killed 170,000 people in the province on Sumatra and tens of thousands more in countries around the Indian Ocean.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from