EARTHQUAKE HITS LUWUK, CENTRAL SULAWESI

Luwuk, Central Sulawesi, July 10 (ANTARA) - An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale hit Luwuk, Central Sulawesi, on Friday at 10.48 am Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB).

The earthquake's epicenter was located at 0.24 degree northern latitude and 123.44 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth or around 211 Km below sea level, about 52 Km southeast of Gorontalo, according to the national meteorological and geophysics office (BMG).

The temblor at III-IV MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) was strongly felt by residents of Luwuk town, Benggali District) and the surrounding areas.

Thousands of people in Luwuk rushed out of their homes as they were panic-stricken.

Meanwhile, last July 6, an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted Meulaboh, Nangro Aceh Darussalam (NAD) Province.

The temblor's epicenter was located at 3.14 degrees northern latitude and 93.35 degrees eastern longitude, around 327 km southwest of Meulaboh at a depth of about 10 km below sea level, according to information from the Bandarlampung meteorological, climatological, and geophysics office (BMKG).

The earthquake did not have potential to trigger a tsunami, the BMKG said.

On July 2, three tectonic earthquakes with magnitudes of over five on the Richter Scale, hit Indonesia.

The first temblor with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter Scale jolted Gunung Sitoli, North Sumatra province, at 1.57 am local time, according to information of the meteorological, climatology and geophysics office (BMKG) on Thursday.

The second earthquake was 5.9 on the Richter Scale and occurred at 4.10 am WIB in Bitung, North Sulawesi. The third earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale rattled West Sumatra province but there was no immediate report of casualties.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the edge of a tectonic plate prone to seismic upheavals.

In December 2004, a 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit Aceh (northern Sumatra) and Nias Island (North Sumatra Province) and triggered a deadly tsunami which devastated the two affected areas and killed around 200,000 people.