A magnitude 6.1 earthquake killed at least seven people and injured dozens more when it struck inland near the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Friday, with tremors also felt in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, officials said.
The quake caused residents to flee buildings in some areas and triggered evacuations nearly 400km (250 miles) away in Malaysia. “We continue to monitor and advise people to remain on alert,” Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of Indonesia’s geophysics agency BMKG, told MetroTV.
The agency initially put the magnitude at 6.2. Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency chief Suharyanto said at least two people were killed and some buildings including a government office, homes, and a bank sustained damage. In West Pasaman, about 10.6 miles from the epicenter, a hospital was evacuated and there was panic in some areas.
“People gathered outside their homes and workplaces. They were scared of the tremors. Cables were shaking,” said Frans Kiky Nainggolan, a shopkeeper living in Riau province. In Malaysia, the fire department in the capital Kuala Lumpur said it received multiple calls on tremors felt in the city, though so far there had been no reports of injuries or structural damage.
