Indonesia is hit by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, killing two people, damaging buildings and causing panic in the streets
- A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shakes off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra
- Two people were killed and 20 were injured, and dozens of buildings were damaged
- The quake struck 66km north-west of Buckingen on Friday
- It hit about 12 kilometers below the earth’s surface and caused a landslide
A strong and shallow earthquake hit the coast of IndonesiaSumatra on Friday, killing two and injuring 20, damaging buildings and panicking Sumatra and neighboring people Malaysia and Singapore.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook about 66 kilometers northwest of Bukitingi, a hilly town in West Sumatra province. It hit about 12 kilometers below the Earth’s surface.
Suharianto, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said at least two people had been killed in West Pasaman County, the area closest to the epicenter, and 20 others had been injured in the collapse of dozens of houses and buildings.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook about 66 kilometers northwest of Bukitingi, in West Sumatra province (pictured locals evacuate a market in Pekanbaru after Friday’s quake)
At least two people were killed in the West Pasaman area – the area closest to the epicenter – and 20 others were injured in the collapse of dozens of houses and buildings (pictured police help evacuate West Pasaman residents on Friday)
He said the quake also caused a landslide in the area.
Dukorita Carnavati, head of the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, said there was no danger of a tsunami, but warned of possible aftershocks.
Television reports show that the strong earthquake sent streams of panicked people through the streets of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, and patients at a hospital in West Pasaman were evacuated from the building.
The quake struck about 12 kilometers below the Earth’s surface, damaging buildings and panicking people on the island of Sumatra and neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
People in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore also reportedly felt the quakes.
A video that has been circulated on social media shows residents gathered in the streets after high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur swung for seconds.
Witnesses say they saw their doors and chairs shake and the pictures and paintings on the walls tremble.
Authorities said there was no danger of a tsunami, but warned of possible aftershocks (pictured buildings collapsed after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that shook Indonesia on Friday).
Hamsuardi, West Pasaman district governor, said Friday’s earthquake damaged dozens of houses and buildings, including his office. Authorities are still gathering information on the full extent of the damage in the affected areas.
In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500 in the province of West Sulawesi.
Indonesia has a number of seismic faults and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
A powerful earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
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