Shallow Earthquake of Magnitude 6.1 Strikes Central Papua Province in Eastern Indonesia
A shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck the Central Papua province in eastern Indonesia on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The epicenter was located 28 kilometers south of the city of Nabire. While the USGS reported a magnitude of 6.1 and a depth of 10 kilometers, the Indonesian agency BMKG estimated the earthquake to have a magnitude of 6.6 and a depth of 24 kilometers, with several aftershocks of lower intensity reported. Indonesia is frequently hit by earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of intense seismic activity at the intersection of several tectonic plates. On the same Pacific Ring of Fire, the USGS also reported a magnitude 7.8 earthquake off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East on Friday.
