Strong quake jolts Indonesia’s Sulawesi island

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 5.9 magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia’s Sulawesi island on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, but there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage.

The strong offshore quake struck at a relatively deep 102 kilometres (63 miles). The epicentre was some 97.5 kilometres east south-east of Gorontalo city in North Sulawesi, according to USGS.

Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.

The Southeast Asian archipelago is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth.

In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

© Agence France-Presse