Strong Earth Quakes Hit Indonesia

A powerful earthquake struck an area off northern Sulawesi early on Monday, causing a brief tsunami warning and triggering panic among residents in parts of the island.

A magnitude 7.7 quake struck in the Gorontalo area of Sulawesi island at a shallow depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the agency said



Indonesia launched a new hi-tech system on Tuesday aimed at detecting a potential tsunami and providing faster alerts in a region battered by frequent earthquakes, though experts say large parts of the country are still not covered and the system will not be fully operational until 2010.