A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island early Monday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake’s epicenter was 48 kilometers (30 miles) south-southeast of the city of Singkil in Aceh province, at a depth of 48 kilometers. It happened around 6:30 a.m. local time (2330 GMT) and there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage, and there were no tsunami warnings.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) gave the quake a magnitude of 6.2, while the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center said the quake was “felt in Medan” – about 120 kilometers north-northeast of the epicenter.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide. On November 21, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit the populous West Java province on the main island of Java, killing 602 people.
Most of the victims were killed in building collapses or landslides. One of the deadliest earthquakes on the island of Sumatra occurred on December 26, 2004, triggering a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more than 230,000 people, including victims as far away as Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
This powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake triggered 30 meter waves that hit the shore of Banda Aceh, Sumatra.
