QUAKE MEASURING 5.2 ON RICHTER SCALE JOLTS MANADO

Jakarta, July 26 (ANTARA) - An earthquake measuring 5.2 on Richter scale rocked North Sulawesi provincial capital of Manado at 10.07 am local time on Sunday.

Information obtained from the website of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) mentioned that 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.

It did not have the potentials to create a tsunami.

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.

Earlier at 02.11 p.m., a 5.2 magnitude undersea earthquake also hit the waters 178 km northwest of Ternate at a depth of 10 km.

The agency also recorded an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale shook the waters northwest of Melonguane at 06.52 a.m. on Friday.

None of the quakes caused casualties nor material damage.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

The country was hit hardest by a 8.9 magnitude undersea earthquake and a subsequent tsunami on December 26, 2004, killing more than 200,000 people. ***3***