Indonesia: Earthquake rocked Papua province

A strong earthquake occurred this afternoon (December 22) that shook Papua province in Indonesia. There is no information about damage or casualties.

According to the US Geological Supervision Agency (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 16: 11 local time (11.11 hours Vietnam), with an intensity of 6.4 magnitude. Earthquake epicenter is located 182 km west of Jayapura, the capital of Papua, at a depth of 37 km under the sea.

In Indonesia, the National Meteorological and Geophysical Agency measured the magnitude 6 earthquake. It was followed by a strong magnitude 5.3 aftershock.

'The earthquake is quite strong. If it strikes a village or a town, there will certainly be damage , 'said Suhardjono, an official at the agency. 'We have not received reports of damage or casualties, but the earthquake was felt in many parts of Jayapura'.

In 1998, a tsunami hit the eastern part of Papua, killing more than 1,000 people.

T.VY