Earthquake of magnitude 7.1 strikes Indonesia's Banda Sea

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Banda Sea on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

No tsunami warning was issued for the quake -- initially reported as a magnitude 6.9 -- which hit at 11:53 am local time (0453 GMT), according to the USGS.

The tremor was felt moderately in the town of Saumlaki in the archipelago's Tanimbar Islands, according to the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency, or BMKG.

"The earthquake was quite intense. But the people here were not panicking. We are used to having earthquakes," Saumlaki resident Lambert Tatang told AFP.

"Especially after we learned that there was no tsunami threat, so life is just normal now," the 41-year-old said.

Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

In November last year, a 5.6-magnitude quake hit the populous West Java province on the country's main island of Java, killing 602 people.

In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude quake struck the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.

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