Indonesia: 5.9 quake hits Minahassa Peninsula in Sulawesi island
Representative image of Indonesia earthquake
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked the Minahassa Peninsula on Sulawesi, an Indonesian island, on Saturday (September), Reuters news agency reported citing German Research Centre for Geosciences. The depth of the quake was 10 km (6.21 miles) below the earth's surface, as per the centre.Fortunately, there were casualties reported, as per the preliminary information cited by media reports. Moreover, no damages were reported.Indonesia lies on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" which is a highly seismically active zone where different plates on the Earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcano activity.
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In an update, Indonesia's geophyiscs agency said there was no danger of a tsunami, Reuters reported.
It is important to note that a 7.5-magnitude quake jolted the same area in 2018. The intensity of the earthquake was such that it led to a tsunami which witnessed widespread casualties and damages.
Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a significant region in the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. It is in the shape of a curve and it visually looks akin to a horseshoe. It spans an area of over approximately 40,000 kilometres (25,000 miles).
The Pacific Ring of Fire area consists of the coastlines of many countries. It covers the western coasts of North and South America, the eastern coast of Asia, and the islands in the western Pacific.
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The region is known for its intense tectonic activity caused by the movement and collision of multiple lithospheric plates. The Pacific Plate, North American Plate, Eurasian Plate, Philippine Sea Plate, and other plates intersect along the boundaries within this area.
The said plates interact with one another through processes like subduction, where one plate is forced beneath another, or collision, resulting in seismic activity. Because of this tectonic activity, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the formation of trenches, volcanic arcs, and mountain ranges occur frequently in this region.
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