Indonesia Says Magnitude 7 Quake off Sulawesi, Residents Flee Buildings

Children walk past a house that collapsed in an earthquake, Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Dec. 1, 2022. (AFP)
Children walk past a house that collapsed in an earthquake, Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Dec. 1, 2022. (AFP)
TT

Indonesia Says Magnitude 7 Quake off Sulawesi, Residents Flee Buildings

Children walk past a house that collapsed in an earthquake, Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Dec. 1, 2022. (AFP)
Children walk past a house that collapsed in an earthquake, Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Dec. 1, 2022. (AFP)

A powerful earthquake with a 7.0 magnitude struck off Indonesia's North Sulawesi province on Wednesday, the country's geophysics agency said, adding that there was no tsunami potential.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, however, warned in a bulletin that there was a risk of tsunami waves located within 300 kilometers of the epicenter.

The Indonesian agency said with the quake's epicenter was at a depth of 64 kilometers (39.77 miles), 141 kilometers southeast of the town of Melonguane.

A resident in the city of Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi, said by telephone that the quake was felt very strongly for several seconds and people were seen running out of buildings.

However, the resident said, so far, no visible damage had been seen and some people had returned to their homes.

The quake was also felt in the Maluku islands, the local disaster agency added.

Indonesia rests atop the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", making it one of the most seismically active regions in the world, experiencing frequent earthquakes.



New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
TT

New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defense Force, said in a statement.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Reuters quoted Arndell as saying.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defense Force said.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.
The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.
The agency said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts.”
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told a press conference in Auckland that a plane would leave for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.
He said some of those rescued had suffered minor injuries, including from walking across a reef.
Defense Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board."
"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Collins told the press conference.
"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.
Rescue operations were coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defense personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue center, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.
Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.
New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.