News Desk
ISLAMABAD/JAKARTA: A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Monday.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake’s epicenter was around 30 miles south-southeast of Singkil in Aceh province at a depth of 48 kilometres.
The USGS said that the earthquake happened 6:30 am local time on Monday. However, there were no reports of deaths or significant damage. The authorities did not issue any tsunami alert.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the earthquake was of 6.2 magnitude. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, quoting a witness, said that the tremor was also “felt in Medan, ” about 120-kilometer north-northeast of the epicenter.
Indonesia is prone to frequent seismic and volcanic activities due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates usually collide.
Earlier earthquakes in the island
On November 21, 2022, a 5.6-magnitude quake hit the populous West Java province on the main island of Java, killing 602 people. During that quake, most people were killed as structures collapsed and landslides were triggered.
One of Sumatra island’s deadliest earthquakes occurred on December 26, 2004, trigerring an Indian Ocean tsunami that claimed more than 230,000 lives in as far away as Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
That powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake triggered 30-meter waves that hit the shore of Banda Aceh on Sumatra.
