6.5 magnitude earthquate in Indonesia kills at least 25 (local time: 05:03, Depth 10 km)

At least 25 people died in an earthquake in Aceh province in Indonesia, with officials reporting many buildings are damaged and there may be many people trapped in the remaining rubble.


The 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit undersea off Sumatra Island Wednesday morning, about 12 miles from the town of Sigli, but no tsunami warning was issued by meteorological officials in Indonesia.

Officials said the death toll was expected to rise, and an unknown number of people were hurt, as heavy equipment was sent into towns around the island after the earthquake.

"The earthquake was felt strongly and many people panicked and rushed outdoors as houses collapsed," Sutopo Nugroho, a spokesperson for the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency, said in a statement.

Dozens of buildings collapsed in Pidie Jaya, which is about 37 miles from Sigli, and with 30 people already being treated at the hospital there, patients were beginning to be sent to hospitals in Sigli as well.

The location of the quake was not far from a undersea earthquake in 2004 that caused a massive tsunami that killed 120,000 people.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because it is located on the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire, a line of fault lines and volcanoes causing frequent earthquakes and eruptions that circles the entire oceanic rim.
 upi.com
7/12/16
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• Magnitude Mw 6.5

Region NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Date time 2016-12-06 22:03:33.6 UTC
Location 5.35 N ; 96.12 E

Depth 10 km

Distances:
344 km NW of Medan, Indonesia / pop: 1,751,000 / local time: 05:03:33.6 2016-12-07
91 km E of Banda Aceh, Indonesia / pop: 251,000 / local time: 05:03:33.6 2016-12-07
18 km E of Sigli, Indonesia / pop: 17,600 / local time: 05:03:33.6 2016-12-07
 emsc-csem.org
7/12/16
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