Earthquake of 6.5 magnitude off Indonesia's Sulawesi island

A strong earthquake hit off the coast of Sulawesi island in eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and authorities said there was no threat of a tsunami.

The magnitude-6.5 quake struck at a depth of 22.5 kilometres (13 miles) and was centered about 122 kilometers (76 miles) southeast of Mondayang, a town in northern Sulawesi, according to the US Geological Survey.

Indonesian authorities did not issue a tsunami warning following the quake, and the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a widespread tsunami.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Most of the deaths were in northern Sumatra's Aceh province.

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