Earthquake in Indonesia felt throughout southern Thailand

An earthquake in Indonesia was felt as far away as southern Thailand. The quake, which had its epicentre on Sumatra Island, measured 6.2 on the Richter scale and took place yesterday morning. People reported feeling the tremors in Phuket, Phang Nga, and Songkhla provinces in Thailand, some 500 to 550 kilometres away.

The earthquake struck at 3.52am yesterday and was picked up and reported by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation at 4.33am. The quake struck off the southern coast of Northern Sumatra 40 kilometres deep into the earth. They came after a 4.7 earthquake the day before, and a 5.0 tremor two days before that on September 21.

FELT AROUND THAILAND

The epicentre was 535 kilometres Southwest of Phuket. So far no damages, injuries or deaths have been reported related to the earthquake. But people all across the south of Thailand reported feeling the tremors.

In Phuket, residents in the Mueang Phuket district reported feeling some minor shaking and tremors. To the north of Phuket island, in Phang Nga province, locals confirmed that they felt distinct shaking due to the earthquake.

Further south, in Songkhla province, several people informed authorities about feeling the earthquake. At the border with Malaysia in Sadao, locals reported that the upper floors of taller buildings could feel the shaking. And in the southern hub city of Hat Yai residents living in high-rise buildings reported feeling the quake. They noted the buildings were swaying and shaking with the tremors.

OTHER QUAKES

Earthquakes in the region have been common recently. One last week in Taiwan triggered tsunami warnings briefly. Another earthquake struck Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand nearly two weeks ago. And just over two weeks ago, the island of New Guinea was rocked by a quake in Papua on the Indonesian side of the island.

SOURCE: TPN National

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