Massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Banda Sea in Indonesia, no Tsunami alert issued

Jakarta, June 24: A massive earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale struck Indonesia's Banda Sea on Monday morning, said reports. There is, however, no likelyhood of Tsunami.

The jolts were reportedly felt even in parts of Australia. But, no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland or territories has been issued. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said the earthquake was felt as far as Darwin.

The epicentre of the earthquake was at a depth of 222 kilometres from the surface and located somewhere off the coast of East Timor.

There are no reports of any injuries or casualities so far. 7.5 magnitude is a major earthquake.

Disaster-prone Indonesia sits on a geologically active so-called Pacific Ring of Fire where two major tectonic plates meet and exert pressure on each other.

In Match this year, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale hit Indonesia's Lombok region.

A powerful quake in Indonesia in September last year had caused widespread damage.

Indonesia has suffered a string of disasters over the last year that have claimed thousands of lives, including an earthquake and tsunami on the island of Sulawesi; a volcanic eruption and tsunami in the Sunda Strait; an earthquake on the resort island of Lombok; and the crash of a Lion Air jetliner into the Java Sea.