Deadly earthquake rattles Indonesia's Aceh province
Epicenter was located 55 km west of the town of Bireun on the western tip of Sumatra island. (U.S. Geological Survey)
theweathernetwork.com
Tuesday, July 2, 2013, 9:06 AM -
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Indonesia's Aceh province on Tuesday, killing at least one person and leaving two others missing, officials say.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, its epicenter was located 55 kilometres west of the town of Bireun on the western tip of Sumatra island.
The hardest hit area was the district of Bener Meriah, where the quake caused a landslide that killed a man and left his wife and a young boy missing, said an official with the local disaster agency.
At least 22 homes in the area were badly damaged and dozens of people were left injured.
The quake also caused panic among officials attending a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Medan, the capital of neighbouring North Sumatra province. The officials were escorted from the second-floor meeting room by security officers. Indonesia is prone to seismic activity because of its location on the Pacific Ring of fire.
In 2004, a huge earthquake off Aceh triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people across Asia.
With files from The Associated Press
