QUAKE HITS PAPUA

Jakarta, July 26 (ANTARA) - An earthquake measuring 5.5 on Richter scale shook Papua province at 13.03 pm on Sunday.

Information obtained from the website of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) mentioned that the quake occurred at a depth of 70 km.

Its epicenter is located 139 km northeast of Sorong, West Papua, 198 km northwest of Manokwari, West Papua, 297 km northeast of Fak-Fak (West Papua), 409 km northwest of Kaimana (West Papau) and 422 km northwest of Biak Papua.

The coordinate point of the earthqueake is at 0.25 degree south latitude - 132.39 degrees east longitude. It did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami.

In the meantime, Manado, the provincial capital of North Sulawesi, was also rocked an earthquake mearing 5.2 on Richter scale rocked 10.07 am local time on the same day.

According to the BMKG, the quake occurred at a depth of 187 km, about 1 km to the west of Manado and 40 km northeast of Bitung.

It was about 221 km northeast of Gorontalo and 246 km southwest of Tahuna and 292 km northeast of Ternate.

The quake's coordinate point was located at 1.48 degrees north latitude - 124.83 degrees east longitude.

The Manado earchquake did not either have the potentials to create a tsunami.

On July 17, an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck the waters off the northern coast of Indonesia's Sulawesi Island on July 17, 2009.

The epicenter of the quake which struck at 4.00 p.m. was located 63 km northeast of Tahuna, North Sulawesi province, at a depth of 10 km, the BBKG said in its website.

The epicenter was also 92 km northwest of Melonguane, 296 km northeast of Bitung, and 305 km northeast of Manado, all in North Sulawesi, or 40 km northwest of Ternate, capital of North Maluku province.

The quake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, it said.***3***