By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
A strong earthquake struck the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua on Tuesday, leaving a teenage boy dead.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency recorded the earthquake as measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale with its epicenter at a depth of 49 kilometers (34 miles) in northern Mamberamo Raya regency. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the magnitude-7.0 tremor hit 244 kilometers west of Papua’s capital Jayapura early Tuesday.
"The earthquake has no tsunami potential," National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, told Anadolu Agency, adding that some cities in the north – including Jayapura, Sarmi and Wamena – had felt the quake for four seconds.
Only one fatality had been reported after the tremor, which caused locals to panic and flee their homes.
A 15-year-old boy was found dead around five hours after falling into a river.
Mamberamo resident Andre Fonataba was quoted by Metrotvnews.com as saying, “when the quake happened, he [the victim] had been looking for fish at the edge of the Mamberamo river."
"The limited accessibility [of the area near epicenter] is causing trouble monitoring," Nugroho told Anadolu Agency, saying Papua's Disaster Management Agency was still collecting data.
“It takes about five hours by land and across the river" to reach the effected area, he said.
He added that northern parts of Papua are prone to earthquakes, and had experienced 7.9- and 8.1-magnitude tremors in 1926 and 1971, respectively.
Indonesia lies within the Pacific’s "Ring of Fire," where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sumatra island, causing a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people as it tore along the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
