Indonesia is struck by magnitude 7.6 earthquake

The Indonesian disaster agency BNPB is assessing the extent of the earthquake’s damage, but preliminary reports indicate light to moderate building damage.

Indonesia issued a tsunami warning for nearly three hours after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the Tanimbar Islands in Indonesia just before 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday, January 10; however, no significant changes in sea level were recorded, according to a local official quoted by local media.

The magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred at a depth of 130 kilometres (80.78 miles), according to the country’s geophysics agency BMKG.

After initially reporting the magnitude as 7.7, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) recorded it as 7.6. The US Geological Survey also estimated its magnitude to be 7.6.

Initial reports indicated light to moderate damage to buildings, according to a spokesperson for the Indonesian disaster agency BNPB.

The news website Liputan6.com reported that houses in the Yamdena island town of Saumlaki were severely damaged.

In November 2022, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake killed more than 50 people and injured hundreds in Indonesia’s West Java region.