VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 followed by several aftershocks struck Majene in the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi on early Friday, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.

The epicenter of the 6.2-magnitude quake which occurred at 01.28 WIB (West Indonesia Standard Time) was located on land six kilometers northeast of Majene at a depth of 10 kilometers, Chief of BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center Bambang Setiyo Prayitno said in a written statement.

Judging by its epicenter and hypocenter, the quake was a shallow quake caused by the local fault, he said.

The tremor was felt by people at Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale IV-V in Majene, MMI III in Palu, Mamuju Tengah, Mamuju Utara, and Mamasa.

A quake of MMI III could be felt indoors akin to the movement of a truck, while that of MMI IV could be felt by several people within and outside houses, with the windows or doors creaking and audible wall sounds.

Meanwhile, a quake of MMI V could be felt by nearly all individuals in the affected area and caused articles to dart off and pillars and heavy articles to shake.

Mercalli scale is one of the units to assess the strength of an earthquake, especially in the absence of a seismometer at the site, according to the agency.

No immediate reports were received of any material damage, injuries, or fatalities.

Bambang said before the 6.2- magnitude quake struck the BMKG had detected a foreshock of magnitude 3.1.

As of 02.20 WIB, the BMKG recorded six aftershocks with a maximum magnitude of 4.1.

Friday's quake still had to do with a quake of magnitude 5.9 which struck at 13.35 WIB on Thursday, he said.

Indonesia sits on the geographically active “Pacific Ring of Fire” and holds some 40 percent of the world's geothermal reserves.

The Ring of Fire, or the Circum-Pacific belt, is the world’s greatest earthquake belt, according to Live Science, owing to fault lines running from Chile to Japan and Southeast Asia. (antaranews)