A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck early Monday off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The epicenter was located 48 kilometers south-southeast of the city of Singkil, in the province of Aceh.at a depth of 37 kilometers, reported the USGS, according to the AFP news agency.
The earthquake occurred around 6:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Argentine time) and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. greater. No tsunami warning was issued either.
After the earthquake, an aftershock of magnitude 3.4 and another of 3.3 were registered in the same area, according to the Europa Press agency.
“The tremor generated panic. It was felt between three and ten seconds in four districts of the province of Aceh and North Sumatra,” said Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the Indonesian disaster management agency, AFP added.
#gempa dilaporkan oleh pengguna aplikasi Earthquake Network di 30km dari #sibolga, Indonesian. 7 laporan dalam radius 355km. Unduh aplikasi dari https://t.co/0mm1qTfKjd untuk menerima peringatan waktu nyata pic.twitter.com/o6rXifxRIA
— Earthquake Network (@SismoDetector) January 15, 2023
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic activity due to its position in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where various tectonic plates collide.
On November 21, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck West Java province, on the main island of Java, killing 602 people.
On December 26, 2004, a large earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more than 230,000 people, also in faraway countries such as Sri Lanka, India or Thailand.
