7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes off Indonesia coast

BREAKING: A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off the coast of Indonesia.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck off the coast of Indonesia.

That's the breaking line, and the details behind it are still coming in. What we know so far is the size and the location, offshore, which at that magnitude puts the immediate focus on the coastline. Indonesia sits on the Ring of Fire, one of the most seismically active places on Earth, and its coastal communities know exactly what an offshore quake of this scale can mean.

Authorities there, including the national disaster agency, will now be assessing whether the sea moved and whether people need to leave low-lying areas. Those first hours matter more than anything else.

A 7.7 is a major earthquake by any measure. The number to watch now is not the magnitude, it is what the water does next.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at timesofindia.indiatimes.com