JAKARTA – A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island today, the United States Geological Survey said, but there is no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage.
The strong offshore quake hit about 217km south-southwest of the city of Bengkulu at a shallow depth of 10km at 7.52pm local time.
Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deep ones.
The Southeast Asian archipelago experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.
More than 100 people were killed when a 6.2-magnitude quake rocked the small city of Mamuju on Sulawesi Island last month.
In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami on Sulawesi Island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
A devastating 9.1-magnitude quake struck off the coast of Sumatra in 2004, triggering a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia – one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. – AFP, February 10, 2021
