Strong quake in northern Sumatra felt in southern Thailand on Saturday

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck northern Sumatra, Indonesia, on Saturday evening, with tremors felt in several southern provinces of Thailand, the Thai Meteorological Department’s Earthquake Observation Division reported.

The earthquake struck at 5.54pm, with its epicentre initially located at latitude 2.98 degrees north and longitude 99.06 degrees east, at a depth of 168 kilometres. It was initially measured at magnitude 6.4.

The department later revised the epicentre to latitude 3.03 degrees north and longitude 99.11 degrees east, upgraded the magnitude to 6.8 and revised the depth to 175km.

Near the epicentre, the earthquake was estimated to have reached intensity VIII-IX on the Mercalli scale, potentially causing severe damage to buildings, with some partially collapsing.

In Thailand, tremors were reported in Songkhla, Trang, Krabi, Phuket and Satun provinces. However, the department said the earthquake did not meet the criteria for an alert to be sent through the Cell Broadcast system.

The earthquake came a day after a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores Island, killing dozens of people and causing widespread damage.