Earthquakes Hit Indonesia, Tonga, Panama, New Zealand, South Sandwich Islands, China, And Chile

Earthquakes hit Indonesia, Tonga, Panama, New Zealand, South Sandwich Islands, China, and Chile. On Saturday, June 18, Indonesia’s Tapanuli district in North Sumatra was rattled by an aftershock of 5.1 on the Richter scale that raised the number of damaged buildings from 846 to 1,941 following two quakes the previous Tuesday. The tremor was among 300 aftershocks registered by Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency in the area on Saturday. On Sunday evening, a 4.8-magnitude temblor hit West Sumatra, 76 kilometers southwest of Mentawai. In Tonga, a 5.5 quake struck 209 kilometers northwest of the capital Nukuʻalofa on Sunday morning. In Latin America that same day, a magnitude-5.0 quake hit in the Pacific Ocean off southwestern Panama near its border with Costa Rica. Centered 135 kilometers south of David, it could be felt in the western province of Chiriquí. Also that day in New Zealand’s South Island, a series of temblors rocked the quake-devastated Christchurch, including ones measuring magnitudes-4.5, 4.2, 3.2, and 3.4. The South Sandwich Islands region was also shaken by a series of earthquakes, including a 5.5-magnitude temblor centered 69 kilometers northwest of the uninhabited Visokoi Island early Sunday. On Monday evening in southwestern China, a magnitude-5.3 quake hit Yunnan province, injuring six people as nearly 100 homes toppled and more than 9,700 were damaged. The quake was centered in the township of Mangbang of Tengchong County near the Burmese border. Roads, schools and clinics were also damaged, with 1,000 people who were evacuated from their homes. The provincial department of civil affairs sent hundreds of tents, quilts, and clothing as local police, fire and other rescue crews were mobilized to help. That day in Chile, a strong 6.3-magnitude quake shook the nation’s northern copper mining region at 88 kilometers northeast of Calama in the Atacama Desert. Our appreciation, officials and personnel working to ease the disaster situations. We pray for the soon return to regular, productive lives for the affected residents and that such distressing events may soon be ceased through humanity’s eco-stabilizing endeavors�