by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
MEDAN, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – A powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Tuesday, Christians told Worthy News, forcing residents to flee their homes in several areas.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded the tremor at a magnitude of 6.4 and at a depth of about 13 kilometers (8 miles), with the epicenter located offshore near the northeastern tip of Sumatra.
Authorities said the quake prompted residents to rush outdoors in panic across parts of Aceh province, a conservative Islamic region that frequently experiences strong seismic activity. It also comes months after severe floods hit parts of Sumatra, leaving more than 1,200 people killed or missing, according to officials.
“I was at home when it happened… the shaking was really strong,” 50-year-old Ahmadi told reporters from the coastal town of Sinabang. “I panicked. We fled the house, but because the jolt was short, things went back to normal,” he said, adding that he saw “families running around here on the street.”
Officials said the tremor was strongly felt on nearby Simeulue island and along parts of Aceh’s eastern coastline. Weaker shaking was also reported in Medan, the capital and largest city of North Sumatra province, where a Christian, who identifies herself as Victoria due to security concerns, runs a house church.
The quake struck after her Christian school was recently flooded, forcing the pastor and children to evacuate. The quake struck in a region where small Christian communities operate alongside the Muslim majority and have previously been affected by natural disasters.
SUMATRA EARTHQUAKE NO TSUNAMI RISK
Rahmat Triyono, head of BMKG’s earthquake and tsunami center, said residents would likely have experienced windows and doors rattling, walls creaking, and possibly minor damage such as broken glassware. However, he stressed there was no tsunami risk from the offshore quake.
Local authorities began assessments in affected districts, though no casualties had been reported immediately.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity caused by colliding tectonic plates.
The country regularly experiences earthquakes, some of them deadly.
In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck Aceh, triggering a massive tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia alone and remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history.
Officials urged residents to remain alert for possible aftershocks as monitoring continues.
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