A Litoria frog, which uses a loud ringing song to call for a mate, was discovered in a rainforest during a Conservation International (CI) led Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) expedition of Papua New Guinea's highlands wilderness in 2008 is pictured in this undated handout photo. REUTERS/Steve Richards/Conservation International/Handout


Sunday, April 5, 2009

Earthquakes rock North Sulawesi, West Papua on Saturday

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Earthquakes rocked North Sulawesi and West Papua on Saturday, but did not trigger any tsunami, according to the National Meteorological and Geophysics Office here Saturday.


North Sulawesi was hit by a 6.5-magnitude temblor on Saturday at 2.31 am Western Indonesian Time (WIB). The quake`s epicenter was located at 4.99 degrees northern latitude and 127.04 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 10 km below sea level, around 117 Km northeast of Melonguane, North Sulawesi.


West Papua was jolted by a 5.1-magnitude temblor at 1.09 pm Western Indonesian Time (WIB). The quake`s epicenter was located at 0.73 degrees southern latitude and 133.30 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 101 km, around 86 Km northwest of Manokwari town, West Papua.


On Friday (April 3), Palu, Central Sulawesi Province, was jolted by two consecutive earthquakes in the wee hours, causing a number of local residents to panic and wonder about the temblors` magnitudes.


The first earthquake was 4.4 on the Richter scale and the second was 4.9 on the Richter scale.


Indonesia, the world`s largest archipelago, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the edge of a tectonic plate prone to seismic upheaval.


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