Powerful M7.3 earthquake hits Halmahera, Indonesia
A very strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M7.3 hit Halmahera, Indonesia at 09:10 UTC (16:10 WIB) on July 14, 2019. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). Indonesian BMKG is reporting M7.2 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
The epicenter was located 152 km (94 miles) SSE of Sofifi, North Maluku and 164 km (103 miles) SSE of North Maluku, Indonesia.
There are about 83 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).
8 000 people are estimated to have felt very strong shaking, 48 000 strong, 119 000 moderate and 2 437 000 light.
BMKG said tsunami is not expected.
Image credit: Google, TW/SAM
Image credit: Google, TW/SAM
The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick with concrete floor and precast concrete frame with wall construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as tsunamis and landslides that might have contributed to losses.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
Featured image credit: Google, TW/SAM
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On July 11, 2019 three days ago, I stated the following on linkedin, the sun is currently blank-no sunspots- and the earth, is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from the coronal hole. That means the chance for huge earthquake or explosive volcanic eruption is very high indeed in the next 2-3 days. However, I am not only referring to this huge earthquake, but also see number of big earthquakes that took place in last three days.