Indonesia earthquake, death toll rises to 23

Death toll has risen to 23 in the earthquake which struck the remote Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia on Thursday morning, killing at least three people.

The strong earthquake of 6.5-magnitude brought disasters to different parts of Indonesia.

Indonesian officials said the quake detected at 8:46 a.m. local time, did not present the threat of a tsunami. But it was classified as a “strong” earthquake in Ambon, a city of more than 300,000 people and the capital of Maluku Province.

The United States Geological Survey said the epicenter was about 23 miles northeast of Ambon.

Earlier, a major 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit off the remote Maluku islands in eastern Indonesia on Jul 14, sending panicked residents running into the streets. No tsunami warning was issued.

The quake struck about 165km south-southwest of the town of Ternate in North Maluku province at 6.28pm local time, at a depth of 10km, according to the US Geological Survey.

“The earthquake was quite strong, sending residents to flee outside, they are panicking and many are now waiting on the roadside,” local disaster mitigation official Mansur, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.

Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi Island killed more than 2,200 people with another thousand declared missing.

On Dec 26, 2004, a devastating 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.