A powerful earthquake shook parts of Indonesia’s densely populated Java Island and tourist hotspot Bali on Friday, causing widespread panic, but no reports of serious damage or casualties have emerged yet.
Here are the key highlights from the event:
- The magnitude 7.0 quake was centered in East Java province, 96.5 kilometers (59.8 miles) north of Tuban, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and struck at a depth of 594 kilometers (369 miles).
- While there is no immediate danger of a tsunami, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency has warned of possible aftershocks and put the preliminary magnitude at 6.6.
- Videos on social media showed residents and tourists in the neighboring provinces of Central Java, Yogyakarta and Bali fleeing buildings and houses as they swayed for several seconds. Though several areas ordered evacuations, no reports of serious damage or casualties have been confirmed yet.
Indonesia is situated on the Pacific Basin’s “Ring of Fire,” which is prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. In 2004, a massive quake in the Indian Ocean caused a tsunami that killed over 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia’s Aceh province.
