Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia hit by earthquake

November 7, 2008 A preliminary report issued by the USGS states that islands, known as the Tanimbar Islands, near Saumlaki have been hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0. The earthquake struck the island at 16:04:21 UTC (01:04:21 local time).

The incident occurred 293 km (182 miles) WNW of Saumlaki, 383 km (238 miles) SSE of Ambon and 401 km (249 miles) ENE of Dili, the capital of East Timor.

The closest towns are the towns of Bebar, Wulur and Kenli, which are on the nearest island.

The USGS has confirmed that "this event has been reviewed by a seismologist."

Although the epicenter of the earthquake was offshore, it was very close to nearby islands. It is not known if anyone was injured in the incident.

Related news

 * "Magnitude 6.4 earthquake in South Pacific". Wikinews, November 7, 2008