Shallow 6.1-magnitude quake hits off eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA: A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia late Monday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The quake was measured at a depth of 11.9 kilometres (seven miles) with its epicentre in the Seram Sea around 194 kilometres northwest of Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, according to USGS. “The earthquake does not have tsunami potential. I am still gathering more information regarding damages and casualties,” Mochammad Riyadi of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) told AFP. Maluku is a large archipelagic province. The nearest major island is Buru, some 50 kilometers south of the epicentre.