Indonesia: Major 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes east of Enarotali

A powerful earthquake struck the archipelago of Indonesia Saturday approximately 150 miles east  of Enarotali in the country’s West Papua province.

The tremor registered at 7.0- magnitude of the Richter Scale according to the US Geologic Survey (USGS).

The quake struck at 4:42 am UTC and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage on the sparsely populated mountain province.

According to the Richter magnitude scale, an earthquake that registers at 7.0-7.9 is considered major and relatively rare with approximately 15 reported annually worldwide . It can cause serious damage over very large areas.

Indonesia lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes the country to have frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Much larger numbers of earthquakes of smaller magnitude occur very regularly due to the meeting of major tectonic plates in the region.

Photo/CIA