Strong earthquakes hit Papua New Guinea and Indonesia
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The underground shocks were registered at 22:37 GMT on Friday at the depth of 27.4 kilometres (17 miles).
An earthquake with a magnitude 6.0 is considered to be a strong quake according to Richter scale. Such an earthquake can cause damage to some well-built structures, while poorly built structures usually receive moderate or severe damage. The earthquake usually felt in areas of up to hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.
The epicentre of the earthquake was located 12 kilometres south-southwest of Mount Taron.
An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Ritcher Scale rattled Indonesia on Saturday morning, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
The quake occurred at 8:51 pm (local time) and struck at a depth of 10 kilometers.
There was no immediate report of damage of property or casualties as a result of the quake.
Indonesia is highly susceptible to earthquakes and tsunamis as it lies in the highly seismic Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
In December 2004, a devastating 9.1 magnitude quake off the Sumatra island triggered strong tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean, killing over two lakh people in dozens of countries, including many in India and Sri Lanka. ■