Strong earthquake shakes western Indonesia; no tsunami alert

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong undersea earthquake has shaken western Indonesia but no serious damage or casualties have been reported. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake measured magnitude 6.9 and was centered at a depth of 15 miles. No tsunami alert was issued by Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.