A robust and shallow earthquake shook Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Saturday, killing a resident, injuring 11 and damaging greater than a a dozen homes and buildings, police mentioned.
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck about 40 km (24.8 miles) northeast of Sibolga, a coastal metropolis in North Sumatra province, in keeping with the US Geological Survey. It was 13 km (8 miles) deep.
The pre-dawn earthquake was adopted by two 5.0 magnitude aftershocks.
A 62-year-old man died of a coronary heart assault whereas fleeing to security in Tarutung village, which is closest to the epicentre, mentioned native police chief Johanson Sianturi. Eleven individuals have been injured and not less than 15 homes and buildings broken within the village, he mentioned.
Authorities have been nonetheless investigating the total extent of the harm.
A footage launched by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency confirmed a number of residents evacuating an injured individual by a van to a hospital whereas panicked voices cried for assist. The company additionally confirmed a number of individuals receiving therapy and partitions cracked by the earthquake.
Indonesia, an enormous archipelago of greater than 270 million individuals, is regularly struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis due to its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault traces within the Pacific Basin.
In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed not less than 25 individuals and injured greater than 460 in West Sumatra province. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed greater than 100 individuals and injured practically 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
A strong Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed practically 230,000 individuals in a dozen international locations, most of them in Indonesia.
