Listeners:
Top listeners:
-
play_arrow
Powerful Earthquake Strikes Off Sumatra, Residents Flee Homes
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
MEDAN, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – A powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Tuesday, Christians told Worthy News, forcing residents to flee their homes in several areas.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded the tremor at a magnitude of 6.4 and at a depth of about 13 kilometers (8 miles), with the epicenter located offshore near the northeastern tip of Sumatra.
Authorities said the quake prompted residents to rush outdoors in panic across parts of Aceh province, a conservative Islamic region that frequently experiences strong seismic activity. It also comes months after severe floods hit parts of Sumatra, leaving more than 1,200 people killed or missing, according to officials.
“I was at home when it happened… the shaking was really strong,” 50-year-old Ahmadi told reporters from the coastal town of Sinabang. “I panicked. We fled the house, but because the jolt was short, things went back to normal,” he said, adding that he saw “families running around here on the street.”
Officials said the tremor was strongly felt on nearby Simeulue island and along parts of Aceh’s eastern coastline. Weaker shaking was also reported in Medan, the capital and largest city of North Sumatra province, where a Christian, who identifies herself as Victoria due to security concerns, runs a house church.
The quake struck after her Christian school was recently flooded, forcing the pastor and children to evacuate. The quake struck in a region where small Christian communities operate alongside the Muslim majority and have previously been affected by natural disasters.
SUMATRA EARTHQUAKE NO TSUNAMI RISK
Rahmat Triyono, head of BMKG’s earthquake and tsunami center, said residents would likely have experienced windows and doors rattling, walls creaking, and possibly minor damage such as broken glassware. However, he stressed there was no tsunami risk from the offshore quake.
Local authorities began assessments in affected districts, though no casualties had been reported immediately.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity caused by colliding tectonic plates.
The country regularly experiences earthquakes, some of them deadly.
In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck Aceh, triggering a massive tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia alone and remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history.
Officials urged residents to remain alert for possible aftershocks as monitoring continues.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
French authorities have warned that rising anti-religious hatred is threatening “the very balance of our society,” with Jews and Christians suffering the largest number of reported attacks in France.
The European Union and Hungary said Friday they had reached a landmark agreement that could eventually unlock up to 16.4 billion euros ($18.8 billion) in previously suspended funding if Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government completes sweeping anti-corruption and rule-of-law reforms.
Romanian authorities say a Russian drone struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, causing a fire and injuring two people, prompting condemnation from the NATO military alliance and the European Union.
A suspected Islamic extremist armed with a knife stabbed three men in front of schoolchildren at a train station near Zurich, Switzerland’s financial capital, officials said Thursday.
The Pentagon has spent months positioning warships, aircraft, surveillance assets, and Marines around the Caribbean as President Donald Trump weighs possible military action against Cuba, according to a Politico report.
U.S. Central Command has confirmed to Congress that foreign adversaries have exploited commercially available cell phone location data to surveil and potentially target American military personnel in active war zones, raising fresh concerns over troop security in the Middle East.
The U.S. Department of War is stepping up efforts to protect Christians in Nigeria after President Donald Trump directed military leaders to focus on terrorist networks targeting believers in the West African nation, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday.
WHO WE ARE
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
CONTACT
- +1 908 280-4246
- Essex County, USA
- info@tnjrfm.com