6.6 earthquake near Poso Sulawesi

Powerful 6.6 magnitude earthquake strikes southeast of the Indonesian city of Palu
Indonesia News.Net - Tuesday 30th May, 2017

PALU, Indonesia - Following a powerful earthquake that struck an area southeast of the Indonesian city of Palu - panic spread across the region.

The U.S. Geological Survey said that the quake, measuring 6.6 magnitude struck Palu city, nearest to the town of Poso on the island of Sulawesi on Monday.

The U.S.G.S. said that the epicentre was 79 km southeast of Palu, in an area northwest of the town of Poso.

Officials said that several people were forced to flee from their homes even though there was no tsunami warning issued.

According to a statement issued by Sutopo Nugroho, a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, the quake lasted around 20 seconds and caused panic and people to rush out of their houses.

An aftershock caused many people to stay outside their houses.

Darma Lebang, an official at Indonesia's search and rescue agency, said there were no reports of casualties.

However, according to security personnel based in Poso, some older buildings in the town had been damaged.

Earlier, the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics said there was no threat of a tsunami following the quake.



siK.