Magnitude 6.0 Quake Strikes Papua, No Tsunami Threat or Casualties Reported

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Indonesia’s Papua region on Thursday afternoon, sending residents rushing outdoors but causing no reported casualties, authorities said.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the tremor hit at 2:48 p.m. local time (0548 GMT), with its epicentre about 200 kilometres from Jayapura and a depth of 35 kilometres.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii confirmed there was no tsunami threat from the quake.

Residents in Sarmi Regency fled their homes as the shaking lasted about three seconds, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari.

“As of 2:30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time, material losses recorded include 20 houses heavily damaged, 30 houses lightly damaged, and three churches with collapsed walls,” Abdul said.

He added that no fatalities or injuries had been reported as of Thursday afternoon. A team from Jakarta was being dispatched to assist local authorities with rapid assessment and data collection.

An official from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Daryono, said no aftershocks had been detected.

Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, frequently experiences earthquakes due to its position along a series of tectonic plate boundaries stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific.

Papua lies on the western half of the island it shares with Papua New Guinea.