Indonesia is on a High Alert after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes Sumatra.
Jakarta: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck near the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Friday, Indonesia’s geophysics agency BMKG stated, even though there was no threat of a tsunami, nor any immediate reports of damages.
The quake occurred on the ground at 10,0 km (6.21 miles) and felt as far in Singapore and Malaysia and firmly in the cities around Padang located in West Sumatra province and Pekanbaru in Riau Province, witnesses said.
“We remain vigilant and remind people to be alert,” Dwikorita Karnawati, the director of BMKG, said to MetroTV.
“Because it is located on land and the scale is larger than 6 we are worried that it might cause damages.”
At Pasaman Barat, about 17 km away from the epicenter, an eyewitness reported that MetroTV patients were removed from the facility.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation organization was not immediately available to discuss the damage.
Indonesia has frequent earthquakes. They are being located in the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a seismically active zone where various plates on the crust of the earth meet.
In March, the 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit Java island’s vicinity, which caused inhabitants in Jakarta’s capital Jakarta to flee buildings in fear.
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