5.8 Quake strikes off Indonesia’s Sulawesi

A moderate 5.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, The quake struck at 10:17 am (0217 GMT), at a depth of nearly 10 kilometres (six miles), 169 kilometres northwest of Kendari. Indonesia’s Geophysics and Meteorology Agency said there were no immediate reports of damage. Two huge earthquakes struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra island last week, triggering an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert and sending terrified people fleeing from the coast. At a magnitude of 8.6, the first of the two quakes which hit Wednesday was the strongest since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 170,000 in Indonesia’s quake-prone Aceh province. But the tsunami watch on Wednesday was eventually lifted and no major damage was reported.