Strong quake strikes off Indonesia, no tsunami potential seen

iStock [illustration]

A powerful earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island early on Monday and was felt strongly in some areas, including the city of Padang, though there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

The magnitude 6.7 quake, which struck at 04:09 local time, did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, the head of Indonesia's geophysics agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati said.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) had put the strength of the earthquake near Kepulauan Batu at 6.8 magnitude, at a depth of 40 km.

The Indonesian BMKG agency described the quake as feeling like a "truck passing through" in some areas, and said there had been four aftershocks with the biggest of magnitude 6. Padang is about 1,000 km north west of capital Jakarta.

So far officials had not received any information on damage, but were still assessing the impact in some remote areas including north Sumatra's Nias Selatan, where communications were difficult, an official said.

Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes, straddling the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a seismically active zone where different plates of the earth's crust meet.

More from International News

News

  • UAE soldier dies during training mission

    The UAE Ministry of Defence has announced the death of soldier Issa Ghuloom Al Baloushi, who passed away during a training mission in the country on Saturday.

  • UAE expresses concern over military escalation in Sudan

    The UAE has expressed deep concern over the continued military escalation by the two warring parties in several areas of Sudan, including El Obeid, and the impact on civilians and the worsening humanitarian situation.

  • UAE steps up relief aid for Lebanon

    Under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE is sending humanitarian aid to people affected by the ongoing crisis in Lebanon through the UAE Aid Agency.