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60 magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesias west Sumatra

REUTERS/Nanjla Tanjung- Apart from the seismic activity in the region this picture shows motorists choking on smoke from forest fires hung over parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra island today, forcing a delay in flights, and prompting fears that conditions could worsen because of lack of rain,.

The Indonesian seismologist agency says an undersea earthquake registering 6.0 on the Richter scale struck the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra today, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

The quake was centred in the Indian Ocean, 140 kilometres south-east of Mentawai island, off the western coast of Sumatra.

The agency says While it occurred only 10 kilometres beneath the seabed, the quake did not trigger a tsunami,.

September last year, a powerful 8.4-magnitude earthquake hit the western coast of Sumatra, killing more than 20 people and injuring scores of others.

Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation, sits atop the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

In a separate incident that occurred yesterday, a 6.6 strong earthquake struck eastern Indonesian Sumbawa Island, which destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 homes and other buildings but claimed no lives.

MRN-DPA

MRN