7.6 Earthquake Damages Buildings in Indonesia

Northern Australia also felt the earthquake's strong shaking.

Two school buildings and 15 houses were damaged in the Tanimbar islands, with one of the homes heavily damaged and three moderately damaged. Only one injured resident was reported.

“Local residents felt strong tremors for three to five seconds. There was panic when the quake shook so the residents left their houses,” Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said in a statement, citing the local agency, Hindustan Times Reported.

The epicenter of the magnitude 7.6 temblor was in the Banda Sea, nearest the Tanimbar islands in Maluku province which have about 1,27,000 residents, according to 2021 data. Tremors were felt in several regions, including Papua and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, as well as in northern Australia.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency issued a tsunami warning that was lifted three hours later.

“Based on four tide gauge observations around the center of the earthquake, it did not show any significant anomaly or change in sea level,” agency head Dwikorita Karnawati said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was at a depth of 105 kilometers (65 miles) not far from Australia's northern tip. Deeper quakes tend to cause less surface damage than shallow shaking but are more widely felt.

More than 1,000 people in northern Australia, including in the city of Darwin, reported to Geoscience Australia that they felt the quake. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake didn't pose a tsunami threat to the mainland or any islands or territories.

Indonesia is frequently shaken by earthquakes and lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.