Strong Earthquake Strikes Indonesia, Killing At Least 20 People

 

At least 20 people have been killed in a magnitude 6.5 earthquake on one of Indonesia’s least populated islands.

Graphic shows large earthquake logo over broken earth and Richter scale reading

The quake hit at 6:46 a.m. local time Thursday about 20.5 miles northeast of Ambon in Indonesia’s Maluku province, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said dozens of homes, a number of buildings and other public facilities were damaged, including a major bridge in Ambon, Reuters reported.

A teacher was killed when parts of a building at an Islamic university collapsed, according to The Associated Press.

“He was just getting out of a car and entering a door and the collapsing rubble fell onto him,” Benny Bugis, a cameraman who works for Reuters, said. He also said two people were injured.

Agus Wibowo, a spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said at least 19 others were killed and about 100 were injured. He said more than 2,000 people took refuge in various shelters.

Rahmat Triyono, head of the earthquake and tsunami division at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency, told the AFP news agency the earthquake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami. Still people along the coast fled to higher ground.

“The tremor was so strong, causing us to pour into the streets,” said Musa, an Ambon resident who uses a single name.

Maluku is one of Indonesia’s least populous provinces with a population of about 1.7 million people.

The earthquake Thursday came two days ahead of the first anniversary of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Palu on Sulawesi island that killed more than 4,000 people.

Indonesia sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire and often experiences deadly earthquakes and tsunamis.

In 2004, a powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.

Author: Mitch Battros

Mitch Battros is a scientific journalist who is highly respected in both the scientific and spiritual communities due to his unique ability to bridge the gap between modern science and ancient text. Founded in 1995 – Earth Changes TV was born with Battros as its creator and chief editor for his syndicated television show. In 2003, he switched to a weekly radio show as Earth Changes Media. ECM quickly found its way in becoming a top source for news and discoveries in the scientific fields of astrophysics, space weather, earth science, and ancient text. Seeing the need to venture beyond the Sun-Earth connection, in 2016 Battros advanced his studies which incorporates our galaxy Milky Way - and its seemingly rhythmic cycles directly connected to our Solar System, Sun, and Earth driven by the source of charged particles such as galactic cosmic rays, gamma rays, and solar rays. Now, "Science Of Cycles" is the vehicle which brings the latest cutting-edge discoveries confirming his published Equation.