Indonesia residents rush outside as magnitude 6.6 quake hits
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
JAKARTA: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit an island off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia on Thursday (Nov 27), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), with no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warning.
The quake, which struck Simeulue Island at 11.56am (12.56pm, Singapore time) at a depth of 25km, prompted locals on the island to immediately rush outside.
"I was sitting down at a coffee shop, suddenly the table was shaking. Many people rushed outside of buildings and houses," Ahmadi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.
"The earthquake was quite long. I think probably around seven seconds or more."
Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.
This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners.
Loading
He said there were several aftershocks, but the tremors were relatively shorter compared to the earlier quake, adding that he had yet to receive any information about damages.
The Indian Ocean tsunami warning centre said after the quake that "there is no threat" of a potential tsunami generated from the quake.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded the quake with a magnitude of 6.3 at a depth of 10km, adding that the jolt did not have the potential to cause a tsunami.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago in Southeast Asia, experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The arc of intense seismic activity, where tectonic plates collide, stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
A magnitude-6.2 quake that shook Sulawesi Island in January 2021 killed more than 100 people and left thousands homeless.
In 2018, a magnitude-7.5 quake and subsequent tsunami in Palu, also on Sulawesi, killed more than 2,200 people.
Newsletter
Morning Brief
Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app