1st LD: Strong earthquake hits eastern Indonesia, no tsunami alert

A strong and shallow undersea-quake struck off eastern parts of Indonesia on Wednesday, but it was not potential for tsunami, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said here.

The USGS also reported that the quake was also at similar magnitude.

The quake jolted at 17:21 p.m. Jakarta time (1021 GMT) with epicenter at 99 km southeast of Maluku Tengah of Maluku province and the depth at 10 km under sea bed, an official of the agency told Xinhua by phone.

But, the USGS reported that the depth was at 33.9 km under the sea bed, according to its website.

Indonesia is prone to quakes as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire." Enditem