Indonesia Hit by Magnitude 6.5 Earthquake, U.S. Says (Update3)

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Eastern Indonesia was hit by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The tremor struck at 5:04 p.m. local time 213 kilometers (132 miles) south-southwest of Ternate, and 326 kilometers north-northwest of Ambon, both in the Moluccas islands, the group said in an e-mailed report. Aftershocks measuring 5 and 5.8 struck later, the group said on its Web site.

The larger quake initially prompted concerns that it could be followed by a tsunami, said Yudo Patriabekti, a seismologist at the meteorology and geophysics agency's national office in Jakarta.

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