Earthquake jolts Central Sulawesi in Indonesia, no casualties reported
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake jolted the Indonesian island of Sulawesi today, but no damage or casualties were immediately reported. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake at a depth of 11 miles (18km) was centered about 19 miles (30km) North of the Central Sulawesi town of Donggala. Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said it didn't have the potential to cause a tsunami. Here's more.
"Things swaying in my house, not much panic in neighborhood"
Donggala resident Mohammad Fikri said he ran from his house but there wasn't great panic in his neighborhood. "All things in my house were swaying and the quake left a small crack on my wall," he said. "But this wasn't first time. Last week we felt an earthquake that had a stronger tremor so this time we didn't panic, just avoided buildings," he added.
Why is Indonesia prone to earthquakes?
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive earthquake of magnitude 9.1 off Sumatra in Western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people.
