5.6-magnitude earthquake jolts western Indonesia

JAKARTA, July 31 (Xinhua): A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's western province of Aceh on Sunday, the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency said.

The quake hit at 10:03 Jakarta time (0303 GMT), with the epicenter at 44 km southeast of Calang city and a depth of 56 km under the seabed, the agency said.

The quake did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami, it said.

Local officials said the personnel of the local disaster management and mitigation agency will keep conducting risk assessment.

Officials also added that there was no immediate report of casualty or damage in the province.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", causing it to experience frequent earthquakes.

A 6.2 earthquake shook Indonesia's West Sumatra province in February, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 400. Thousands of homes and other buildings were damaged by the tremors that were felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore.

There was also a strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake that jolted Indonesia in March but no casualty or damage were reported. - Xinhua