Epicenter of the quake, which struck at 10:44 a.m. local time, was located some 237 kilometers (km) away from Kodi Sub-district, at a depth of 10 km, Head of Meteorology Agency-Kupang Office Robert Wahyu remarked.
Earthquakes regularly hit various parts of Indonesia since it lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also called the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause recurrent volcanic and seismic activities.
On Sept 6, 2020, for instance, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted northwest of Halmahera Barat District in North Maluku Province, but no tsunami alert was issued.
On Aug 24, 2020, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Pangandaran District in West Java Province, though no tsunami alert was issued.
The earthquake that struck several areas of Central Sulawesi Province was one of the deadliest that Indonesia had witnessed over these past two years.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake that was followed by a tsunami that hit the areas of Palu City and the districts of Donggala, Paringi Moutong, and Sigi on Sept 28, 2018, claimed 2,102 lives, injured 4,612, and rendered 680 others missing.
A total of 68,451 homes were seriously damaged, while 78,994 people were displaced.
The authorities and humanitarian workers ultimately took the decision to bury the large numbers of decomposing corpses in mass graves.
Meanwhile, the twin deadly disasters caused material losses estimated to touch Rp15.29 trillion.
The provincial capital of Palu took the brunt of the disaster, with material damage and losses recorded at Rp7.6 trillion, or 50 percent of the total estimate, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
The material damage and losses in Sigi District were recorded at Rp4.9 trillion, or 32.1 percent; Rp2.1 trillion, or 13.8 percent, registered in Donggala District, and Rp631 billion, or 4.1 percent, in Parigi Moutong District.
Material damage in the four affected areas reached an estimated Rp13.27 trillion, while material losses touched around Rp2.02 trillion, the agency announced in October 2018.
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Related news: 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia's West Halmahera district
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Bernadus T, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
