Earthquake jolts Sorong on Thursday

The quake`s epicenter was located at 0.34 degrees southern latitude and 132.28 degrees eastern longitude, some 123 km northwest of Sorong, at a depth of 46 km below sea level, according to information of the national meteorological and geophysics office here on Thursday.

Last Wednesday, a tectonic earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale jolted Manokwari, West Papua Province.

The quake`s epicenter was located at 1.07 degrees southern latitude and 133.11 degrees eastern longitude, around 109 km southwest of Manokwari, at a depth of 20 km below sea level.

A series of earthquakes, including a 7.6-magnitude one, shook Manokwari and Sorong, on January 4, 2009, killing four people, injured several others, and damaged dozens of buildings.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono immediately on the same day after the earthquakes, sent Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, Transportation Minister Djusman Syafii Djamal, Health Minister Fadilah Supari and Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, to Manokwari, West Papua Province, to help the quake`s victims.

Indonesia, the world`s largest archipelago, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the edge of a tectonic plate prone to seismic upheaval. (*)