7.6 quake damages buildings in Indonesia, felt in Australia
A powerful deep-sea earthquake has damaged village buildings in a lightly populated island chain in eastern Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful deep-sea earthquake damaged village buildings in a lightly populated island chain in eastern Indonesia early Tuesday and was widely felt in northern Australia.
Two school buildings and 124 houses were damaged in Indonesia's Tanimbar islands and Southwest Maluku districts, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said. Only one injury was reported.
“Local residents felt strong tremors for three to five seconds. There was panic when the quake shook so the residents left their houses,” agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
The epicenter of the magnitude 7.6 temblor was in the Banda Sea, nearest the Tanimbar islands, which have about 127,000 residents. The quake was felt in several regions, including Papua and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, as well as in northern Australia.
