A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake, followed by aftershocks, struck Bali and other Indonesian islands on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, prompting tourists to withdraw but causing no major damage.
The earthquake occurred at a great depth, some 515 kilometers, in the sea, northeast of Bali, at 03:55 (20:55 on Monday in Lisbon), added the institute, which ruled out the risk of a tsunami.
Tremors were felt across the entire island of Bali, as well as the neighboring islands of Lombok and Sumbawa.
The USGS also recorded two aftershocks of magnitudes 5.4 and 5.6. Hotels evacuated guests and staff monitored the beaches for fear of a possible tsunami.
Authorities did not report any immediate damage.
“Our teams are assessing the situation and collecting information from residents,” the Indonesian disaster management agency said in a statement.
Indonesia frequently experiences seismic and volcanic activity because it sits on the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific, where tectonic plates collide.
On November 21, more than 600 people were killed by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that struck the West Java province.
On December 26, 2004, an earthquake off Sumatra in western Indonesia killed more than 230,000 people as far away as Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Measuring magnitude 9.1, it triggered huge waves, reaching 30 meters in height, off the coast of Banda Aceh in North Sumatra.
Source: TSF
