Jakarta: Earthquake tremors were felt in the early hours of Monday off the Sumatra island coast of Indonesia. The intensity of the earthquake was measured at 6.2 on the Richter scale. The American Geological Survey gave this information. The USGS said the epicenter was 48 kilometers (30 mi) south-southeast of the city of Singkil in Aceh province, at a depth of 48 kilometers. This happened around 6:30 am local time (2330 GMT). There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage from the Indonesian AJC, nor was there a tsunami warning.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency gave the quake a high magnitude of 6.2, while the European-Mediterranean Center for Seismology reported that tremors were felt in Medan, located about 120 kilometers north-northeast of the epicenter. Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where tectonic plates collide. On November 21 last year, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck the sparsely populated West Java province on the main island of Java, killing 602 people. Most of the victims died due to the collapse of buildings or landslides.
It was the deadliest earthquake in Indonesia since the 2018 earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, which killed about 4,340 people. One of the deadliest earthquakes on the island of Sumatra occurred on December 26, 2004, which triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean. More than 230,000 people were killed in this disaster. Apart from Indonesia, people from Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were also included in these. That powerful 9.1-magnitude quake triggered 30-metre-high (100-foot) sea waves that hit the coast of Banda Aceh on Sumatra.