With the US Geological Survey (USGS) reporting that a powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake hitting the Banda Sea, near the Maluku islands to the east of East Timor, it calls for more urgent steps for earthquake preparedness on the part of the Indonesian government as well as the governments of the nations of the area of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Such measures are more urgent for Indonesia as the country lies between the Pacific Ring of Fire along the northeastern islands adjacent to and including New Guinea and the Alpide belt along the south and west from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores and Timor. It may be noted that the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake just off the coast of Sumatra was located within the Alpide belt.

The Ring of Fire is a 40,000 km horseshoe shaped area with a series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs and volcanic belts that was rocked regularly by tectonic plate movements. The area has 452 volcanoes, and over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes are situated here.

About 90% of the world's earthquakes and 80% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. More disturbingly, the next most seismic region, with around 6% of earthquakes and 17% of the world's largest earthquakes, the Alpide belt, starts from Java and Sumatra and extends through the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, and out into the Atlantic.

The combined effect of Ring of Fire and the Alpide Belt, coupled with seemingly more frequent occurrences of quakes in the region (in September dozens were killed by a tremor off Java, while a quake which hit Sumatra left more than 1,000 people dead) is a strong indication that the government should implement policies to construct quake-resistant structures, build infrastructure to reach quake hit areas immediately with emergency rescue services, and review the existing high-rise and other vulnerable buildings to see how far they can withstand major tremors.

It may be noted that in the recent quake that hit Sumatra killing over a thousand people, rescue workers could not reach even the worst hit areas in cities for weeks. Equipments for removal of collapsed structures and rubble were ridiculously inadequate.

Luckily, in Saturday's earthquake that struck mostly uninhabited areas there were not immediate news of injuries or damage. According to Seismologists the earthquake was too deep for there to be a tsunami risk, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.