"The tremor was quite strong, because my house has three floors, and my family and I immediately went up to the top floor just in case the earthquake got stronger," Yenni, a resident of Gunungsitoli, remarked.
A trader at Soliga Market, Gunungsitoli City, also recalled that traders and buyers had fled the market building owing to the earthquake.
"The first to sense an earthquake was a buyer at my shop. She asked me why your shop's light is constantly moving," Wati, a local trader at Soliga Market, remarked.
"We immediately ran out of the building when we felt the shock was strong enough," she noted.
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The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the earthquake's epicenter was located some 140 kilometers (km) southwest of Nias, at a depth of 16 km.
The agency later updated the magnitude, from 6.4 into 6.1.
According to BMKG, the shallow earthquake that occurred due to tectonic activity on the Indian Ocean Plate was felt in West Nias at II to III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale, while Gunung Sitoli (North Sumatra) felt the shaking, with a scale I to II MMI reading.
BMKG Head of Earthquake and Tsunami Center Bambang Setiyo Prayitno remarked that no reports had yet been received of a damage caused by the earthquake that did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami.
The tremors were also felt by the residents of Aek Godang, Padang Sidimpuan, and Pakpak Bharat in North Sumatra; Pariaman, Padang Pariaman, and Padang in West Sumatra; and Aceh Singkil in Aceh on II MMI. Related news: Malang earthquake damages 40 houses and places of worship in Jember
Translator: Fardah Assegaf
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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