JAKARTA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 7.2-magnitude rocked off Indonesia's eastern province of Maluku on Wednesday, but there are no preliminary reports of damages or casualties, an official said.
The country's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency did not issue a warning for a tsunami, as the tremors were not potential to cause giant waves.
To have centered at the shallow seabed, the earthquake occurred at 11:52 a.m. Jakarta time (0452 GMT), the agency said.
The location of the epicenter was 251 km northwest of Maluku Tenggara Barat (Tanimbar Islands) district with a depth of 10 km under the sea floor, it said.
The intensity of the quake was felt the strongest at IV to V MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) in Saumlaki town and the Banda Sea, and at the lower MMI in the other parts of the province, the agency added.
Several aftershocks have followed the main shock, it said.
In the quake-hit province, the officials of the local disaster management and mitigation agency have been intensively checking on the situation, according to Sandhy Luhulima, head of the emergency unit of the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency.
"Until now, there are no reports about the houses, or the buildings destroyed in Tanimbar Islands district and Maluku Barat Daya district," he told Xinhua via phone, referring to the hardest-hit territories.
The official said that the monitoring and checking work is still ongoing. ■
