Series of powerful earthquakes shakes eastern Indonesia, no immediate reports of casualties
Jakarta (AP): A series of powerful and shallow earthquakes shook a sparsely populated island chain in eastern Indonesia on Wednesday. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The US Geological Survey said a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit an area 341 kilometres (211 miles) southwest of Tual, a coastal town in Maluku province, at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).
It was followed by another 7.0 magnitude quake in the same area and two 5.1 magnitude aftershocks, the USGS said.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks.
Villagers in the Tanimbar Islands reported strong tremors for a few minutes but there was no panic, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency's spokesperson Abul Muhari said in a statement.
He said the epicentre of the quakes was in the Banda Sea near the Tanimbar Islands, with a population of about 127,000.
The country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin known as the "Ring of Fire."
In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.
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Drunk woman held for hitting police constable with car in Rohini
New Delhi (PTI): A 40-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly ramming a car into a police barricade and injuring a constable in northwest Delhi's Rohini, police said on Friday.
The incident took place on December 24 in Sector 11 of Rohini where a barricade had been placed, they said.
According to police, a caller informed them that a female driver, apparently drunk, had hit a police constable with her car.
A police team rushed to the spot and found the white car that had struck the barricade.
The woman, a resident of Sector 16, Rohini, was found to be under the influence of alcohol, police said.
Constable Rohit, posted with the 1st Battalion of the Delhi Armed Police, who suffered injuries in the collision, was taken to BSA Hospital for treatment, police said.
They said the woman, who works in the private sector, was returning home from a birthday party when the incident occurred.
She was arrested, and her car was seized, they said.
