5.8-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia's Java

JAKARTA - A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's main island of Java on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, less than a month after another quake in the same province killed more than 300 people.

The quake struck at 07:50 am local time (0050 GMT) around 15 kilometres from the town of Cianjur, the USGS said.

It said there was a low likelihood of casualties or damage following the quake, which struck at a depth of 123 kilometres (76 miles).

Last month, a shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Cianjur, triggering landslides and collapsing buildings.

The tremor was the deadliest in the archipelago nation since a 2018 quake which resulted in a tsunami which killed more than 4,000 people on the island of Sulawesi.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

- AFP