6.4-magnitude quake strikes off East Timor

DILI: An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck near the coast of Lospalos in East Timor on Friday, US Geological Survey said, although there were no reports of damage.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles) and struck about 29 km east-southeast of Lospalos.

US Geological Survey said a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of East Timor on Friday US Geological Survey said.

A tsunami advisory group said the earthquake “may be capable of generating a tsunami affecting the Indian Ocean region”.

The quake struck at a depth of 51.4 kilometres off the eastern tip of Timor Island, USGS said, which is split between East Timor and Indonesia.

The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS) issued the tsunami warning for the region.

East Timor sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, causing it to experience frequent earthquakes. In February, a 6.2-magnitude quake killed a dozen people when it struck neighbouring Indonesia’s North Sumatra.

In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude quake hit the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 people throughout the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.

East Timor has a population of 1.3 million and is Southeast Asia’s youngest country, recently celebrating the 20th anniversary of its independence from Indonesia.