A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has shaken northern Indonesia, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 600, officials said on Friday.
The meteorological department warned of possible strong aftershocks that might cause to trigger a tsunami in the region.
Earthquake shakes Indonesia, the strongest earthquake shakes Sulawesi island, magnitude 6.2 on the Richter scale at the relatively shallow depth of 10km, just before 1:30 am (local time).
Thousands of residents rushed out of their homes and fled for higher ground.
Pictures of the disaster kept coming on social media.
The earthquake triggered three landslides, damaged bridges to regional hubs such as the city of Makassar, and damaged more than 60 homes, people are also experiencing an outage of electricity. the provincial governor’s office was hurt too, where at least two people are reported buried under debris, said the authorities.
“Praise be to God, for now, we are ok, then we felt another aftershock,” said a survivor.
The chief of the disaster agency in West Sulawesi, Darno Majid, told international media that almost 35 people had been killed in Majene and more deaths likely to be confirmed.
According to the National Disaster Management, several buildings, including the governor’s office, collapsed due to the quake however the rescue teams fanned out.
No tsunami warning was issued but the head of Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Dwikorita Karnawati, told a news conference that aftershocks could follow, with a possibility that another powerful quake could trigger a tsunami.
There had been at least 26 aftershocks, informed the head of Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Dwikorita Karnawati.
Safaruddin, the government spokesman said authorities needed to restore telecommunications, rehabilitate several damaged bridges, supply food, and medicines and deliver tents to the victims.
In 2004 an earthquake of 9.1 magnitudes triggered a tsunami that swept over coastal areas of Indonesia, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and other countries, leaving more than 230,000 people killed in the calamity.