Indonesia earthquake: Is there a tsunami warning? Is Bali affected?

INDONESIA has been struck my a massive magnitude 6.8 earthquake. Is there a tsunami warning and is Bali affected?

Indonesia earthquake

Indonesia earthquake: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has struck Indonesia (Image: USGS/GOOGLE)

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit south of Sulawesi in Indonesia, sparking evacuation orders. The natural disaster happened at 7.40pm local time and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake hit 174 miles south of the province of Gorontalo, at a depth of 27 miles. The tremor comes just months after Sulawesi was hit by another earthquake, killing more than 2,000 people on the island.

Is there a tsunami warning?

Yes - officials have issued a tsunami warning and told residents in central Sulawesi to evacuate.

Indonesia’s geophysics agency said a tsunami is possible after the powerful quake struck.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury following the temblor.

Indonesia earthquake

Indonesia earthquake: The quake struck east of the Indonesian Sulawesi island (Image: USGS)

Is Bali affected?

No - the holiday hotspot Bali has not been affected by today’s major earthquake.

Bali is located approximately 1,000 miles away from Sulawesi, where the monster tremor struck.

Nearby places to the earthquake’s location include Bungku, Luwuk, Poso, Kendari and Gorontalo.

Indonesia earthquake

Indonesia earthquake: Indonesia is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire (Image: USGS)

Why are there so many earthquakes in Indonesia?

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire.

The "ring" stretches along a 25,000-mile arc and is formed by tectonic plates - massive slabs of the Earth's crust.

Last year, more than 4,400 people were killed in the Palu disaster.

The deadly Sulawesi earthquake occurred on September 28 last year, killing more than 2,500 people on the Indonesian island.

Ring of Fire: Tectonic movements produce 90% earthquakes

The magnitude 7.5 quake was the most destructive of 2018 and dragged people out to sea, buried them in mud and damaged more than 70,000 houses.

According to Science Alert, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi sits in the “midst of a jigsaw puzzle of tectonic plates.”

The science news site explained: “The most active junction is the Palu-Koro fault, comprised of plates that slide laterally against one another in opposing directions in a 'strike-slip' fashion.

“For strike-slip ruptures to move at supershear velocities, the rupture should theoretically begin in a slightly rougher zone before building up speed down a smooth straight.”

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