Earthquake rocks Ternate, Indonesia

An earthquake with 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted Ternate, the capital of Indonesia's North Maluku province, and its surrounding areas at about 08:15 a.m. local time on Sunday.

Head of the Ternate Geophysical Station Teguh Prasetyon said the epicenter of the quake is located in Maluku sea, or about 112 kilometers southwest of Ternate in the depth of 34 km under the sea.

The quake was allegedly caused by the movement of the tectonic crust of the earth in Maluku sea, he said.

"The quake is quite high in term of magnitude. But considering that the location is far from Ternate, there have been no report on damage, fatalities and tidal waves," Antara news agency quoted Teguh as saying.

But the quake was reported to have made local people into panic, and many of them jumped out of their homes when the quake hit the city.

Source: Xinhua