DILI, East Timor – A powerful undersea earthquake rocked East Timor’s capital on Tuesday, sending terrified residents fleeing from homes and buildings, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.1 quake struck 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Dili.
“Everything was shaking for a few seconds,” said Joao de Araujo, an employee at the United Nations office in the city. “All I could do was run from my office building.”
Women were screaming “Earthquake! Earthquake!” and children were crying, he said. Others started banging on bamboo drums and on metal objects to sound the alarm.
East Timor sits along a series of faultlines and volcanos known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. In December 2004, a massive earthquake off Indonesia’s Sumatra island — along the same faultlines — triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people.
Related Posts
A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Honduras in the early hours of Thursday, killing a teenage boy as it knocked down homes and briefly sparking a tsunami alert for Central ...
READ MORE
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Batanes province Friday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.
The shallow undersea quake struck at 8:28 pm (1228 ...
READ MORE
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's West Papua province at 7:33 a.m. on Sunday (2233 GMT on Saturday), according to the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG).
The quake was a strong ...
READ MORE
JAKARTA (AFP) — A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck at sea off Indonesia's Sumatra island, the US Geological Survey said Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The ...
READ MORE
A 7.9 magnitude quake about 209km (130 miles) south-east of Tonga triggered a tsunami in the South Pacific, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
A regional tsunami warning was ...
READ MORE
Indonesia issued a tsunami warning after an earthquake struck southeast of Melonguane in North Sulawesi, a telephone text message from the country's meteorology agency said on Thursday.
The U.S. Geographical Survey ...
READ MORE
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A strong earthquake in remote eastern Indonesia cut power lines, cracked building walls and sent panicked residents running out of their homes toward higher ground Sunday, ...
READ MORE
JAKARTA: Rescue workers were rushing to northern Sulawesi yesterday after a massive earthquake near the coast killed at least four people, demolished hundreds of homes, and briefly triggered a ...
READ MORE
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) -- A powerful earthquake struck the mountains of Central Asia, destroying a village in Kyrgyzstan and killing at least 60 people, emergency officials said Monday.
The 6.6-magnitude quake ...
READ MORE
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) _ A strong earthquake has rocked the sea floor off the coast of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, but there are no immediate reports of ...
READ MORE
Major quake off Honduras kills one, damages homes
Moderate earthquake strikes Batanes
7.6-magnitude quake hits Indonesia’s West Papua
Strong 6.0 quake strikes off Indonesia’s Sumatra
Tsunami after South Pacific quake
Indonesia issues tsunami alert after Sulawesi quake
Tsunami Alert Issued After Indonesian Quake
Kyrgyzstan: Quake kills 60
Magnitude 6.5 quake shakes sea floor off Vanuatu