Earthquake hits Indonesia’s Gorontalo

Gorontalo, (20 Ramadan 1437/25 June 2016 (MINA) — A light earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale hit the Indonesian province of Gorontalo in Sulawesi at 05.06:10 Central Indonesia Time on Saturday.

The epicenter of the quake was 10 kilometer deep, southwest of Bone Bolango district. Antara reported.

Local villagers said they did not feel the tremor and were not aware of an earthquake having happened. “I did not feel anything today. Perhaps it was a weak tremor,” Hamdan Rahman, one of the villagers, stated.

According to the Gorontalo office of the Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency (BMKG), Gorontalo is one of the most quake prone regions.

“According to our data, earthquakes have been happening almost every day throughout last month,” BMKG geological observer Hasan Arif informed.

Quakes below 5 on the Richter scale are seldom felt by the population. The strongest quake struck on October 4, 2009, measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale, he disclosed. Most such quakes have epicenters around the Tomini Bay and southwest of Gorontalo.

The Pacific plate affects Gorontalo and its surrounding areas while the Indo-Australia plate contributes little to all quakes that happen in the region. (LP/P008/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)