A 6.2 magnitude undersea quake jolted eastern Indonesia on Monday, damaging some houses and sparking panic among residents but causing no deaths, ANTARA quoted a meteorology agency official as saying. The U.S. Geological Survey placed the strong quake, shallow at only 35 km (21.7 miles) deep, at an epicenter at 8 km (5 miles) north of the coastal town of Manokwari in Indonesia's West Papua province. "There are several houses on fire but we don't know yet how many exactly," Fauzi, head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency's earthquake centre told Reuters. "The quake could have caused a short connection that ignited fire or stoves in use may have been tipped over." Fauzi said the quake, which caused widespread panic among residents, also caused cracks in many houses and building in Manokwari. Elshinta radio reported that people rushed out of their homes in panic towards higher ground, although no tsunami warning was issued. Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a very active seismic region where several tectonic plates meet, and is subjected to frequent tremors.
