Quake shakes west Indonesia; no immediate reports of damage

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong undersea earthquake struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island late Tuesday, causing residents to panic, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.

The magnitude 6.0 quake was centered 117 kilometers (72 miles) south of Pagar Alam city in South Sumatra province at a depth of 59 kilometers (36 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Witnesses said many residents ran out of their homes to higher ground, but later received text messages saying there was no danger of a tsunami.

The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency measured the earthquake at magnitude 6.5 and said it was too deep to trigger a tsunami.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines.

In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.