An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 on the open Richter scale struck part of the central region of Indonesia this Tuesday, as confirmed by the country's authorities, who specified that the epicenter was located on the island of Sulawesi, without any data on possible victims having been provided so far.
The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) stated in a communiqué that the epicenter was located about 42 kilometers southeast of the city of Palu, in the province of Central Sulawesi, with a hypocenter about ten kilometers deep.
After the main tremor, numerous aftershocks were recorded, including one of magnitude 5.2 on the open Richter scale. This seismic activity has led the agency to ask the population to remain vigilant regarding the evolution of the situation, although for the moment a tsunami alert has been ruled out.
Local authorities in Palu have ordered the temporary closure of access to the Palu III bridge, in the capital of Central Sulawesi, due to incidents detected after the earthquake. "The closure is due to instructions from the regional chief. Several obstacles occurred on the bridge after the earthquake," explained the director of the Palu City Transportation Agency, Trisno Yunianto.
According to the Antara news agency, his team and the local police are working on reorganizing road traffic. "Signs have been installed. Police officers and Transportation Agency agents have also been deployed to regulate traffic flow," he added, before specifying that the Government has sent a specialized team to review the structural condition of the bridge.
For now, authorities are awaiting reports from the competent technical agencies to determine whether the infrastructure can be reopened to vehicle traffic. "We hope the population understands the situation," Trisno insisted.
Palu was one of the cities most affected in 2018 by a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the open Richter scale recorded in the area. The town, a prominent tourist destination in Indonesia, was hit by waves more than two meters high, in an episode that caused hundreds of deaths.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago located in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, is a usual scene of intense seismic and volcanic activity. In this strip of the planet, around 90% of the earthquakes that occur worldwide are concentrated.