A strong earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale struck this morning off Simeulue Island, northwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the quake at 11:56 local time (06:56 Cyprus time) with an epicentre near Simeulue and a focal depth of 25 km.
Indonesia’s BMKG agency measured it slightly lower at 6.3 with a shallower depth of 10 km.
“I was sitting down at a coffee shop, suddenly the table was shaking. Many people rushed outside of buildings and houses,” Ahmadi, told AFP.
“The earthquake was quite long. I think probably around seven seconds or more.”
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, 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.
Source: CNA
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