LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck late on Sunday off the coast of northern California, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or a tsunami threat.

KUALA LUMPUR: Even though Malaysia doesn't lies within the alignment of ring of fire, yet it is susceptible to earthquakes, with Sabah at risk of moderate quakes and peninsular Malaysia, mild quakes, the Parliament was told Thursday.

Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said this was learned following a study on the risks and hazards of earthquakes and tsunami in Malaysia completed in 2009 by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM).

He said based on data compiled between September and November this year, tremors of less than magnitude four were felt in Beluran, Kota Marudu, Kudat and Tambunan in Sabah.

"This indicates that Malaysia is susceptible to earthquakes, but moderate and mild ones," he said when replying to a question from Hamim Samuri (BN-Ledang) who had wanted to know of the latest studies pertaining to the risk of earthquakes in Malaysia.

The Study on the Risks and Hazards of Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Malaysia was funded with an allocation of RM3.378 million and involved the Meteorological Department, the Minerals and Geoscience Department, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

Fadillah said on the initiative of the Meteorological Department, 25 strong motion sensors, 10 of them in the Klang Valley, and 17 weak motion sensors were installed throughout Malaysia to monitor tremors.

Source: BERNAMA

JAKARTA, Indonesia- A powerful series of earthquakes shook northeastern Indonesia Thursday, injuring at least 11 people and damaging a number of homes and other buildings, officials said.

Setting off the chain of temblors was a magnitude 7.2 quake at 1:35 a.m. (12:35 p.m. ET Wednesday), the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The major quake was followed by no less than 18 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or higher over the next 13 hours. The number is nearly 30 when smaller aftershocks are counted.
The quakes were all clustered off the northeastern tip of Sulawesi Island, about 1,550 miles (2,495 km) east-northeast of Jakarta, where three major tectonic plates come together, according to Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Agency. The plates massive, sometimes continent-sized, slabs of rock floating on the Earth's surface collide with each other, causing earthquakes.
Indonesia is located on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The full extent of damage was not immediately known as people fled from coastal areas to the surrounding hills for safety in the event of a tidal surge, said Priyadi Kardono, an official with the National Disaster Coordinating Agency.
Source: CNN