JAKARTA: A magnitude 6.3 quake hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island near Aceh province on Thursday with no tsunami potential.
The quake struck at 4.56 am, with a depth of 25.4 kilometres (15.7 miles), 45 km (27.9 miles) west-northwest of Sinabang town on the east coast of Simeulue Island.
There were no reports of damage or casualties when this story was published.
A rare tropical cyclone blew across Indonesia’s Sumatra island, inundating the nearby Malacca Strait and causing floods and landslides, the country’s meteorological agency said on Wednesday, as large swaths of Southeast Asia grappled with deadly flooding.
Up to 8,000 people across North Sumatra have been evacuated, and roads remain blocked by landslide debris, with aid now being distributed via helicopters, Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the country’s disaster mitigation agency, said on Thursday.
The regions of Sibolga and Central Tapanuli were among the hardest hit, Yuyun Karseno, an official at the agency’s North Sumatra division, told the Reuters news agency, adding that communications and power had been cut off.
“There is no more access, due to a total cutoff,” Yuyun said when asked about the rescue efforts. “Until now, we can’t communicate with folks in Sibolga and Central Tapanuli.”
Among the dead were one family in Central Tapanuli, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said.
A video shared by radio channel Elshinta on its social media account showed a person carrying a baby in a plastic container on a roof in Central Tapanuli.
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