5.0 magnitude earthquake jolts off eastern Indonesia

Jakarta (The Uttam Hindu): An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale rocked off Indonesia's eastern South Papua province earlier on Sunday, the country's meteorology and geophysics agency said. The tremors occurred at 4:20 a.m. (Jakarta time) on Sunday (2120 GMT Saturday) with its epicentre at 69 km northwest of Asmat regency and a depth of 10 km. No tsunami warning was issued, as the tremors had no potential to generate large waves, it said. Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia often experiences seismic activity for its position within an earthquake-prone and volcanically active region.