Moderate quake strikes in eastern Indonesia, at least 2 injured

Mar 15, 2007, 9:07 GMT

Jakarta - A moderate earthquake struck the eastern Indonesian islands of North Maluku on Thursday, heavily damaging homes and buildings and injuring at least two people, officials and news reports said.

The 5.4-magnitude tremblor hit Labuha district on the North Maluku island of Halmahera and nearby regions on Thursday morning, said Edison Gurning, spokesman for Jakarta's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.

Gurning said in a statement that the quake's epicentre was in the ocean, about 17 kilometres north-east of Labuha and some 33 kilometres beneath the seabed. The area lies about 2,800 kilometres north-east of Jakarta.

Antara, Indonesia's state-run news agency, reported that a number of homes and buildings were heavily damaged from the quake, and two residents were hospitalized after being hit by falling debris.

Rusly Abdul Wally, Labuha's deputy district chief, told Antara that his office was still collecting details on damage and injuries from the affected areas.

It was the second earthquake to hit Indonesia in just more than a week.

A strong, 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck West Sumatra province on March 6, killing around 70 people, injuring dozens more and destroying or damaging thousands of homes and buildings across seven districts.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, is prone to earthquakes because it sits atop Asia's so-called 'Ring of Fire,' where continental plates collided and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent.