The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.9 quake was centered 185 kilometers (115 miles) southeast of Manado in the
Molucca Sea at a depth of 24 kilometers (15 miles).
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has hit central Indonesia, in the
Molucca Sea, between Sulawesi and Maluku chain of islands, according to the USGS.
Beijing, Dhu-AlHijjah 18, 1432, Nov 14, 2011, SPA -- An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale jolted
Molucca Sea at 12:05 p.m.
In December 1975 the 227,556-ton oil and ore bulk carrier Berg Istra, sailing under a Liberian flag, blew up in the
Molucca Sea and was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest vessel ever to become a total loss.
Indonesia's seismological agency said the temblor had a magnitude of 7.6 and immediately issued a tsunami alert over the radio and television, but the US Geological Survey said the quake which struck 90km beneath the
Molucca Sea had a magnitude of 6.6.
This word, which has been variously corrupted, Alforias, Alfores, Alfours, Alforen, Arafuras, and Harafuras, and supposed to be the native name of a people inhabiting the interiors of the larger islands in the
Molucca Sea, is not a native word at all, nor is it the generic name of any people whatsoever.
Geological Survey put the quake's epicenter in the
Molucca Sea some 220 kilometers north of the North Maluku provincial capital Ternate, 330 km east-northeast of the North Sulawesi provincial capital Manado and 950 km west-southwest of Davao on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
The Indonesian seismological institute, which put the tremor at 6.7 magnitude, issued a tsunami alert via local television and radio after the earthquake hit around six miles under the
Molucca Sea, the US Geological Survey said.
