Ambon - A magnitude 5.3 earthquake jolted Ambon city, Maluku province, on Thursday at around 12.31 p.m., there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The epicenter was located at latitude 5.62 south and longitude 129.264 east or 244 kilometers southeast of Ambon city at a depth of 243 kilometers below sea level, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG).
The quake however was barely felt by local residents who were going about their daily activities, Antara news wire reported.
Maluku, and Indonesia in general, sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire” at the junction of several tectonic plates, which makes it prone to seismic upheaval.
Indonesia’s worst natural disaster was the 2004 Aceh earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people around the Indian Ocean, including 170,000 people in Indonesia, prompting the largest evacuation and reconstruction effort since World War II.