A strong undersea earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra late Tuesday, causing panic among residents, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties. The 6.0-magnitude earthquake was centered 117 kilometers south of the town of Pagar Alam in South Sumatra province at a depth of 59 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said. Witnesses said many residents ran from their homes to higher ground, but later received text messages saying there was no danger of a tsunami.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency measured the earthquake at 6.5 and said it was too deep to trigger a tsunami. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis due to its location on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines. In February, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in West Sumatra province killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in West Sulawesi province killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500.
