Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

6.4-magnitude quake hits East Timor, tsunami ruled out

A man refuels a vehicle at a private gas station in Dili on April 8, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck off the coast of East Timor on Friday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, prompting some people in the capital Dili to flee buildings, though a tsunami was ruled out.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but witnesses said the quake was felt strongly. A video shared on social media showed people exiting a shopping mall in Dili by stairs.

"It's quite big," Francez Suni, director of information of East Timor's GMN TV told Reuters in text message.

"Our staff ran out of the building because it was shaking."

The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the quake did not trigger a tsunami threat warning.

The earthquake was felt by residents in the Australian city of Darwin, more than 700 kilometres (435 miles) away, according to Australian media reports and residents' posts on social media.

East Timor and neighbouring Indonesia straddle the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

EMSC said the quake was at a depth of 10km (6.21 miles) and struck about 29 km east-southeast of Lospalos. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake magnitude was 6.1 and 50km deep.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.