A strong one earthquake Of magnitude 7.3 hit Indonesia, today 02 April, at 00:48 (Italian time, 06:48 on April 2 local time). According to what was recorded by INGV, the epicenter was located in Molucca Seaabout 126 km from the island of Ternate. The hypocenter, however, was detected at 53 km deep.
The earthquake was also distinctly felt in the Manado arealocated on the island of Sulawesi. The first shock was followed by a second earthquake of magnitude 6.1, again detected at sea but this time at a depth of 92 km.
The US Tsunami Warning Centers initially issued atsunami warning for the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia and areas located within a radius of 1,000 km from the epicenter: the alert has now been withdrawn, although the center located in Hawaii has advised local people to remain alert in case of further developments. In the monitoring station of Bitung have been registered waves approximately 20 cm highwhile a West Halmahera they reached the 30cm. The American agency also reported 5 cm waves in the city of Davao, in the Philippines.
Due to the earthquake, one person has unfortunately lost his life after being trapped under a collapsed building, while another was injured in the leg.
From a seismic point of view, the Indonesian archipelago constitutes a highly seismic area – as confirmed by the map below, released by the USGS – due to the presence of the Australian and Pacific plates, whose border extends for over 4,000 km and is dominated by subduction of the Australian plate northwards.
Indonesia, by the way, is located along the Belt of Fire, a strip of territory approximately 40,000 km long which surrounds the Pacific Ocean and represents the most tectonically active region in the world.
