At least four people were killed and many houses damaged when a 5.7 magnitude quake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra early on Monday, police said.
JAKARTA: At least four people were killed and many houses damaged when a 5.7 magnitude quake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra early on Monday, police said.
The quake which hit at 4:39 am on Sunday was centered 150 kilometres southeast of Sibolga at a relatively shallow depth of 17.7 kilometres, geologists said.
Police in Panyabungan bordering South and West Sumatra said a family of four were killed after their home collapsed in Tamiyang village some 65 kilometers away.
"Four people have been killed due to the quake when their home collapsed on them," local police chief Rudi Sumarardiyanto said.
The quake also damaged a large number of houses while key roads were blocked by landslides triggered by the quake, he said.
"I'm unable to go to Tamiyang to get first-hand information on the situation. Local residents have come out to help clear the road and we have deployed two tractors to clear the road," he said.
Three aftershocks sent residents rushing out of their homes in the area, where memories of the 2004 tsunami which devastated Aceh further north are still fresh, he said.
The earthquake was also felt 540 kilometres away in Singapore, the city-state's environment agency said.
Singapore local radio reported receiving calls from residents in central Singapore who said their apartments were shaken by the tremor.
The quake followed just half an hour after a 5.8-magnitude hit the north of Sumatra. The first quake struck at 4:10 am with its epicenter under the Indian Ocean floor 74 kilometres south-southwest of Banda Aceh.
"This are moderate earthquakes," said Budiwaluyo, head of the earthquake information unit with the meteorology headquarters.
He said no tsunami warning was issued for the first quake as it was below 6.3 magnitude. "We are not issuing a tsunami alert."
The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake in July on the south coast of the main island of Java also killed more than 600 people.
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