Indonesia’s Java island hit by strong earthquake of 7.0 magnitude, no threat of tsunami yet

Jakarta: A strong earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale struck north of Indonesia’s Java island on Friday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake had a depth of 632 km, the agency said, and aftershocks were felt about 20 minutes later of a magnitude of 5.5. Tremors were felt in the urban centres of Surabaya, Tuban, Semarang and Bali’s Denpasar, according to the disaster agency. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) put the magnitude of the initial quake at 6.5 with a depth of 592 km. “There is no damage reported so far because the quake is very deep,” Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the national disaster agency said. Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly active seismic zone, where different plates on the Earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes. An employee at the JW Marriott hotel in Surabaya said the quake was felt strongly there, causing panic amongst hotel guests. “All the guests rushed out from their rooms and were seen flocking outside the hotels. But no damage has so far been reported,” the employee said. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.