Big 6.6 Mw Shake Hits Indonesian Coast – No Tsunami Alert
Early Monday, a 6.6‑magnitude tremor rattled off Indonesia’s northern shoreline, sending a handful of residents scrambling out of their homes. The quake struck at a depth of about 60 km (40 mi) beneath the Maluku Sea, roughly 175 km northwest of Ternate.
Local Reactions
- Budi, Ternate: “We felt the quake and a few of us stepped outside, but everyone’s back inside now and there’s no real panic.”
- Bani Nasution, Manado: “I ran out of my house like everyone else, and we’ve all returned to our rooms.”
There are no reports of damage or casualties, and Indonesia’s geophysics agency did not issue a tsunami warning.
Aftershocks Continue
The region has been rocked by a series of aftershocks since the main event, adding to the local unease.
Context: A Troubled Island Chain
- Indonesia is nestled on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide, making it one of the world’s most disaster‑prone nations.
- Last December, a deadly tsunami triggered by an erupting volcano in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, claimed over 400 lives.
- Earlier this year, a 6.5 Mw earthquake in April and a 7.1 Mw quake‑tsunami in September (Palu, Sulawesi) killed around 2,200 people, with thousands missing.
- These swathes of tragedy, alongside a series of powerful earthquakes on Lombok in July and August, have made the past six months a sobering chapter in Indonesia’s recent history.
While the latest quake brought some alarming jitters, the swift response and lack of immediate damage give the residents a reason to breathe a little easier—at least for now.
