There is no effect on Sri Lanka due to the 7.1-magnitude earthquake reported in Indonesia’s Banda Sea, Assistant Director at Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre Pradeep Kodippili said.
The earthquake struck Indonesia’s Banda Sea today, the United States Geological Survey reported, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
No tsunami warning was issued for the quake – initially reported as a magnitude 6.9 – which hit at 11:53 a.m. local time (4.53 a.m. GMT), according to the USGS.
The tremor was felt moderately in the town of Saumlaki in the archipelago’s Tanimbar Islands, according to the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency, or BMKG.
Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
In November last year, a 5.6-magnitude quake hit the populous West Java province on the country’s main island of Java, killing 602 people. (NewsWire / AFP)