JAKARTA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua): One person was injured after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's North Sulawesi province on Saturday, according to official sources.
The earthquake also damaged a church and several houses, the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said, adding that no deaths were reported and the tremors did not potentially trigger giant waves of tsunami.
The quake jolted at 9:26 a.m. (0226 GMT), with the epicenter at 39 km southeast of Melonguane town in Talaud district and the depth at 12 km under the seabed, the agency said.
The intensity of the quake was felt at III and IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in the town, according to the agency.
"This quake is classified as a shallow quake, as a result of deformation of Molucca-sea plate. The earthquake originated from an oblique thrust fault," said Daryono, the agency's head of the quake and tsunami mitigation division.
He said there were nine weak aftershocks following the main quake, and advised the communities to avoid cracked or damaged buildings.
Head of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency of Talaud District Jabes Linda told Xinhua via phone that the tremors were strongly felt in the district and some damage was caused in the Kabaruan sub-district. - Xinhua
