A 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Banda Sea on June 24, jolting a region 286 km west-northwest of Saumlaki, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake hit at a depth of 220 km. The US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said it would not trigger tsunami and there were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.

It came hours after another earthquake of 6.1 magnitude hit Indonesia’s eastern Papua province the same day.

The USGS said its epicentre was 21km deep and 240 km west of Abepura town of Papua province. There were no reports on casualties after the quake and no warnings of tsunami.

Indonesia, one of the most natural disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and a large portion of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

In the previous year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island killed more than 2,200 with a thousand more declared missing.  On December 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck Aceh province, causing a tsunami and killing more than 170,000.

During 2018, a total 11,577 earthquakes struck the country, many of which resulted in casualties.

(Source: VNA)