A tectonic earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale shook Saumlaki, Maluku Province, on Thursday, at 8.16 am Western Indonesian Time (WIB), ANTARA reported. The earthquake's epicenter was located at 7.55 degrees southern latitude and 128.66 degrees eastern longitude, around 299 km northwest of Saumlaki, at a depth of 76 km below sea level, according to information on the website of the national meteorological and geophysics office (BMG). Indonesia sits on the seismically active "Pacific Ring of Fire" and experiences frequent earthquakes as well as tsunamis triggered by underwater earthquakes. On December 26, 2004, Aceh province and Nias Island (North Sumatra province) were devastated by a massive earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale and a subsequent deadly tsunami which killed at least 170,000 people.
