Massive 7.5 Earthquake Strikes Off Indonesia Tsunami Alert Issued

JAKARTA, (THECOUNT) – A large 7.5 magnitude earthquake has struck off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday.

The massive quake triggered a tsunami alert, hours after a milder 5.6 magnitude quake hit the same area.

Indonesia’s meteorology agency issued an early tsunami warnings for people in Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi provinces, asking people to evacuate to higher ground.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the second quake at a strong 7.5, after first saying it was 7.7. source

The earlier quake destroyed some houses, killing one person and injuring at least 10, authorities said.

Sulawesi, formerly known as Celebes, is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world’s eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Within Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger populations, according to wikipedia.