NORTH MALUKU JOLTED BY 5.2 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE

Bengkulu, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - A tectonic earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted the Labuha area in North Maluku at 1:13 local time on Monday afternoon.

According to the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG, the epicenter of the quake was located at 1.18 degrees southern latitude and 127.72 degrees eastern longitude.
The quake was located 66 kilometers southeast of Labuha and 216 kilometers northeast of Sanana in North Maluku at a depth of 11 kilometers under the sea level but there was no immediate report of casualties and material damage.
Less then an hour earlier another 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred at 134 kilometers northeast of Melonguane in North Sulawesi with its epicenter located at 4.03 degrees northern latitude and 126.88 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 22 kilometers under the sea level.
BMG said that on Sunday at about 4:31 local time in the morning, another 5.2 magnitude earthquake also rocked Saumlaki in Southwest Maluku district.
The epicenter of the quake was located at 5.78 degrees southern latitude and 129.89 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 50 kilometers below the sea level, or about 290 km Southwest of Saumlaki and 306 km Southeast of Ambon, the capital of Maluku province.
On Saturday February 14, an aftershock with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter Scale hit Talaud District, North Sulawesi Province, at 1.30 pm local time.
The quake's epicenter was located at 4.02 degrees northern latitude and 126.86 degrees eastern longitude, 132 km northeast of Melonguane, Talaud District, at a depth of 10 km below sea level.
Earlier in the day, at 5.26 am local time, a 5.7-magnitude aftershock shook Talaud. Its epicenter was at 3.68 degrees northern latitude and 126.72 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 58 neather seabed, around 121 km southeast of Melonguane.
Talaud District have been shaken by more than 160 aftershocks following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit the region early Thursday morning (Feb. 12).
At least 264 people were injured and more than 500 buildings, including schools and churches, were damaged by the disaster.