At least two dead as earthquake strikes Indonesia's Sumatra

At least two people died and 20 others were injured when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's Sumatra island on February 25.

Terrified residents evacuated their houses and shuttled loved ones to safety as buildings collapsed from the 6.2 magnitude quake

According to Indonesia’s geophysics agency (BNKG), the quake occurred on land at a depth of 10km. The US Geological Survey said it is about 70 kilometres from the town of Bukittinggi in West Sumatra province. The quake came just minutes after a less violent tremor as terrified residents had begun evacuating their houses.

Head of the country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Suharyanto confirmed that at least two people died and 20 others were injured in West Pasaman. Photos posted on the media showed many houses collapsed in Pasaman city, about 17 kilometres from the epicentre. A hospital in West Sumatra’s provincial capital Padang also had to evacuate patients.

The BMKG warned people to stay away from slopes over fears of landslides at the peak of the rainy season. The quake was felt in the neighbouring provinces of Riau and North Sumatra and as far away as Malaysia and Singapore. No tsunami warning has been issued.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", causing it to experience frequent earthquakes. An earthquake devastated parts of Padang and killed more than 1,000 people in 2009. In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude quake struck the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 226,000 people throughout the region./.

VNA