The Badan Nasional Penangulanggan Bencana (Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency), reported a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake about 50 km to the northwest of the city of Bima, on West Nusa Tenggara island, at about 10.30 pm local time (about 2.30 pm GMT) on Thursday 13 July 2017. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, though people have reported feeling it on East Nusa Tenggara Island.
West and East Nusa Tenggara form part of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which are located on the northern part of the Timor
Microplate. This is trapped between the converging Eurasian and
Australian Plates, both of which are being subducted beneath it. In the
south the Australian Plate is passing under the island of Timor, with
material from the subducted plate melted by the friction and the heat of
the Earth's interior rising through the Timor Plate to feed the
volcanoes of the island. In the north the Eurasian Plate is being
subducted in the same way, feeding the volcanoes there.
See also...
The subduction zones beneath the Timor Microplate. Hamson (2004).
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
See also...
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