Powerful 6.5 Magnitude Earthquake Leaves Trail of Destruction in Indonesia, Intensity Felt by Other Countries

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Indonesia's island of Sumatra on Friday morning, killing seven people and injuring at least 85. In neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore tremors were felt, and neighboring cities in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia and Pekanbaru, Riau, shook violently.

At least four people, including two children, died in the Pasaman district, and three died in the adjacent West Pasaman district. At least 410 houses and buildings were damaged, the National Board for Disaster Management said.

The horrendous earthquake in Indonesia

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck near the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island on Friday, killing at least seven people.

"At this point, there is information that two people have died and 20 have been injured," Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Management Agency, told the media. The earthquake also damaged some homes and other buildings, as per Bloomberg.

Authorities have released photos showing a collapsed house and a school with a blown ceiling in West Pasaman County.

The 17,000 islands of Indonesia are experiencing earthquakes because they straddle the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is the arc of volcanoes and fault lines that cause frequent earthquake tremors.

At least 15 aftershocks occurred after the quake damaged several homes, many offices and other buildings, Dwikorita Karnawati, head of BMKG, said in a virtual briefing. It occurred on land at a depth of 10 km, and there was no danger of a tsunami.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a powerful, shallow earthquake struck the northern islands at a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles). Residents said the quake occurred minutes after the less serious quake recorded by the USGS of magnitude 5.0, according to DW.

Faults along the island of Sumatra can be particularly active and dangerous. In 2004, a powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck the northern tip of Sumatra, killing 226,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.

Neighboring countries are being affected by the earthquake

According to the Meteorology, Climate and Geophysical Agency, the earthquake that shook neighboring buildings in Singapore and Malaysia occurred at 8:39 am local time, about 17 kilometers northeast of the regent.

In Malaysia, the Malaysian Meteorological Agency (MetMalaysia) issued a warning on Twitter at 10:12 am about the shaking. It is said that shaking was felt in Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.

Malaysian student Zhen Li, 17, was taking an online class in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur at her home when she felt shivering. She said that she felt the chair move in the middle of their math class, she told The Straits Times.

Police and the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) said they had received multiple calls from citizens reporting the quake. No injuries have been reported, SCDF added.

Police said on Facebook that citizens who were indoors and felt vibrating were advised to hide under a table and stay away from glass and hanging objects. We also recommend that you do not use elevators or open flames in the event of a gas leak.

Lynn Chua, 44, from Singapore, told that she was having breakfast when the table began to shake around 9:45 am on Friday morning. She and her husband also felt two rounds of tremors, each lasting about 5 seconds. It all happened within a minute.