People are advised not to panic since there is no potential for a tsunami.Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - A 5.5-magnitude (M) earthquake that rattled the northeast region of Jayapura district, Papua, on Thursday did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami, an official said.
The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred at 7:44 p.m. Eastern Indonesian Standard Time (WIT), was located at 2.04 degrees south latitude and 140.37 degrees east longitude, approximately 119 kilometers (km) northeast of Jayapura district, at a depth of 10 km, coordinator for data and information at the Jayapura Geophysics Station, Canggih Sembiring, said.
"The earthquake occurred in the sea. It was not on land. People are advised not to panic since there is no potential for a tsunami," he said.
The tremors were sensed on Mercalli Modified Intensity (MMI) scale III in Jayapura and Sentani regions, he added.
MMI III vibrations are usually felt by people indoors and feel akin to those produced by a passing truck.
The quake led to several Jayapura residents stopping their activities and fleeing from their homes.
"The shocks were quite big, thus the people decided to leave their houses," a resident of Jayapura district, Jendrik Krimadi, recalled.
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Translator: Hendrina Kandipi, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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