JAKARTA: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia in the early hours of Monday, triggering a brief tsunami alert that was swiftly lifted, according to seismic monitoring organisations. The quake struck deep at some 171 kilometres (106 miles) below the surface of the earth in the Banda Sea, the US Geological Survey said. A tsunami alert was initially triggered by the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS). Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismic activity hotspot. In 2004 a devstating tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.

Source: New Strait Times March 25, 2018 21:22 UTC