Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, sits along the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

On Sep 2, a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck West Java province, killing more than 70 people and leaving dozens of others missing. Hundreds of others were injured and tens of thousands of homes were damaged.

A major earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck in December 2004, leaving more than 170,000 people dead or missing in Indonesia's Aceh province and half a million people homeless.

--dpa

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