An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale has struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says.
The temblor hit at a shallow depth of just 23 kilometers (14 miles) off the southwest coast of the island, the USGS said on Saturday.
The epicenter was near the archipelago of Mentawai where a 7.7-magnitude quake in 2010 caused a tsunami which killed over 400 people.
However, no tsunami warning was issued after Saturdayâ„¢s quake and there were no immediate reports of damage.
Å“Judging from the quake’s magnitude and the distance from the epicenter to the land, I don’t think the quake will have a significant impact,” said an official from the local meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency.
Å“There’s little potential to cause damage,” the official added, saying that people in two provinces on Sumatra mildly felt the earthquake.
The tremor followed a 6.1-magnitude inland quake on July 2 which hit Indonesia’s Aceh province, on Sumatra’s northern tip, destroying houses and causing landslides.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency, so far 35 people have been confirmed dead from July 2 earthquake which also left some 16,000 people homeless.
In 2004, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.1 quake killed over 170,000 people in the natural disaster-prone province and tens of thousands more in countries around the Indian Ocean.
Indonesia is vulnerable to earthquakes since it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region where tectonic plates collide and cause recurrent seismic and volcanic activity.
MR/HN
Republished with permission from: Press TV