Status: 14.12.2021 7:51 a.m.
People run out of swaying houses or flee on motorcycles: there was a violent seaquake in Southeast Asian Indonesia. Reports of victims and property damage are not yet available.
There was a violent seaquake off the east coast of Indonesia. The US earthquake monitoring station USGS put the strength at 7.3. The national earthquake monitoring station initially triggered a tsunami warning for the surrounding islands. The authorities lifted them a few hours later, but lifted them again. There were initially no reports of victims or property damage. According to the US earthquake observatory, there was a magnitude 5.6 aftershock.
TV footage of swaying houses
The first quake occurred at 12.20 p.m. (local time), about 110 kilometers northwest of the island of Flores. According to the Indonesian authorities, its center was about twelve kilometers deep, the USGS spoke of 18.5 kilometers. According to the head of the Indonesian civil protection agency, Abdul Muhari, the tremors were clearly felt. TV footage showed people running out of swaying houses and trying to leave the coastal regions on foot or on motorbikes.
Troubled region
The administrator of the Flores Timur district, Anton Hayon, called on people to stay away from the coast, especially in the north. There was a tsunami there in 1972. Thanks to a recent tsunami exercise, the residents would have known how to behave.
The Southeast Asian island nation of Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the geologically most active zone on earth. There are frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions there. A magnitude 9 seaquake off the island of Sumatra, which triggered massive tsunamis at Christmas 2004, had particularly serious consequences. A total of around 230,000 people were killed. In addition to Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia in particular were affected at the time.