By NNN-Antara,
Jakarta : North Sumatra Province was jolted by two consecutive earthquakes measuring 5.6 and 5.8 on the Richter scale on Wednesday morning, respectively at 8.52 am and 9.53 am local time.
The epicenters of the first earthquake was located at 1.49 degrees northern latitude and 97.27 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 12 km below sea level, and about 43 km northwest of Gunungsitoli, North Sumatra.
Meanwhile, the second earthquake`s epicenter was located at 1.25 degrees northern latitude and 97.01 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 17 km below sea level, around 65 km southwest of Gunungsitoli.
Both earthquakes did not have potential to trigger tsunami.
Earlier, Papua and Bengkulu Provinces were also hit by mild earthquakes.
A 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Muko Muko District, Bengkulu Province, Sumatra Island, in the wee hours of Wednesday. The earthquake`s epicenter was located at 3,29 degrees southern latitude and 101,11 degrees eastern longitude, around 78 km southwest of Muko Muko.
A few minutes later, a magnitude-5.4 temblor shook Jayapura, Papua Province, on Wednesday at 2.48 am Western Indonesian Time (WIB).
The earthquake`s epicenter was located at 2.25 degrees southern latitude and 138.75 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 66 km below sea level, around 219 km northwest of Jayapura.
Indonesia is in a zone known as the Pacific “ring of fire”, which is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.