BALI, October 4 (RIA Novosti), Mikhail Tsyganov - Two earthquakes measuring up to 5.1 on the Richter scale have occurred in eastern Indonesia, a spokesperson for Indonesia's Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency told RIA Novosti Saturday.
The two earthquakes occurred in Maluku Province under the surface of the Banda Sea. The epicenter of the first and more powerful quake occurred 127 kilometers (79 miles) away from the northwestern part of the city of Saumlaki, with the hearth of the earthquake lying at a depth of 88 kilometers (55 miles) under the sea.
The epicenter of the second quake, which measured 5.0, was situated at 137 kilometers (85 miles) away from the northwestern part of the city of Tual. Its hearth lay at a depth of 80 kilometers (50 miles).
No casualties or destruction have been reported so far, with threats of tsunami being absent as well.
Indonesia is part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. This part of the world is famous for housing the most active tectonic plates, one of them moving at a speed of seven centimeters per year. Annually, seismologists register in the area from six thousand to seven thousand earthquakes with magnitudes measuring more than 4.0.
