A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra early Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring dozens, according to the United States Institute of Geological Surveys (USGS).
The quake was recorded just before 2:30 a.m. local time (1930 GMT) at a relatively shallow depth of 13 km, about 40 km from the city of Sibolga in North Sumatra province, according to the USGS.
A man in his 50s died of a heart attack caused by the earthquake and at least 25 people were injured, a regional disaster management agency official, Febrina Tampubolon, told AFP.
Authorities were investigating the damage, but power poles and communications towers were hit, disrupting networks, Tampubolon added.
About 50 tremors were recorded by the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology and Geophysics (BKMG).
BKMG Director Dwikorita Karnawati advised residents to be vigilant for possible new tremors and to seek shelter in a safe place.
“Those whose homes have been damaged are advised not to stay indoors as possible aftershocks could further damage them,” she said during a virtual news conference.
Aftershocks could also lead to landslides, she warned.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” meaning it suffers from frequent earthquakes.
In 2018, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami in Palu on the island of Sulawesi killed more than 2,200 people.
In 2004, a powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake in Aceh province triggered a tsunami, killing more than 170,000 people in Indonesia.