Moderate earthquake rocks eastern Indonesia

A moderate earthquake measuring 5.4 magnitude struck eastern part of Indonesia on Thursday, but damages or casualties were reported, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency here said.

The quake hit at 03:30 local time (2030 GMT) with epicenter at 109 kilometers southwest Ternate of North Maluku province and at 10 kilometers in depth, an official of the agency said.

In December 2004, over 170,000 people were killed in the Aceh province in northern tip of Sumatra island after a tsunami triggered by a strong quake devastated coastal areas of the province and other countries in the Southeast Asia.

Indonesia sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire," where two continental plates meet that cause frequent seismic and volcanic movement. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6307144.html