Indonesia, Russia and Papua New Guinea woke up to strong earthquakes on Thursday morning, which measured 6.3, 6.7 and 7.0 on the Richter scale, respectively.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale hit the northeastern New Britain Island of Papua New Guinea on late Wednesday. Strong tremors were also felt in Indonesia due to this earthquake, which also triggered a tsunami warning in Bali, according to Sputnik.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) later stated that three more earthquakes measuring 5.7, 5.9 and 6.2 on the Richter scale struck Papua New Guinea following the 7.0 quake that hit the Pacific island nation. No casualties or damages have been reported as yet.
INDONESIA:
At least three people were crushed to death by due to collapsing of buildings in Indonesia, following a 6.3 magnitude earthquake jolted East Java, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the Head of Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB).
Nugroho further stated that tremors were felt in Lombok and Bali as well due to the earthquake, the epicentre of which was located in the ocean, approximately 55 km northeast of Situbondo Regency. However, no tsunami warning has been issued by the authorities.
BNPB further stated that the earthquake was "felt to be mild to moderate", adding, "not a lot of damage has been caused".
RUSSIA:
An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck Russia's far east Kuril Islands on Thursday, according to Sputnik.
Elena Semyonova, the head of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk seismological station was quoted by Sputnik as saying, "A 6.7-magnitude earthquake was reported on Thursday at 10:16 a.m. near the Kuril Islands. The epicenter of the tremors was located . 150 kilometers [93 miles] to the east of the uninhabited island of Onekotan. The hypocentral depth was 74 kilometers."
Tremors were felt in the neighbouring regions, while an aftershock measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale was felt at the islands at 11:14 am (local time), according to the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk seismological station. No damage has been reported by the authorities as yet.
Both Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are located in the Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Indonesia is still recovering from a double earthquake, measuring 7.7 and 6.1 on the Richter scale, and a tsunami which struck the island of Sulawesi on September 28, as relief work is underway. 1,948 people have lost their lives so far, while 2,500 people have been injured and almost 75,000 are displaced, according to Al Jazeera.
Papua New Guinea was also struck by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on February 26 this year, leaving 67 people dead, according to CNN.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)