A powerful, shallow earthquake struck the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Friday, killing 2 people and injuring 20, damaging buildings and sending people across the island of Sumatra and Malaysia and Singapore into panic neighbours.

The US Geological Survey said the quake measured 6.2 in magnitude and struck about 66 km (41 miles) north-northwest of Bukittinggi, a hill town in West Sumatra province. It struck about 12 km (7.4 miles) below the Earth’s surface.

Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said at least two people were killed in West Pasaman district – the area closest to the epicenter – and 20 others were injured as dozens of houses and buildings would have collapsed. He added that the earthquake also triggered a landslide in the district.

Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks.

TV reports showed the strong tremor sent panicked streams of people onto the streets of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, and patients from a hospital in West Pasaman were being evacuated from the building.

Residents of neighboring Malaysia and Singapore also reportedly felt the tremors. A video circulating on social media showed residents gathered in the streets after Kuala Lumpur’s skyscrapers swayed for seconds. Witnesses reported seeing their doors and chairs shaking and pictures and paintings on the walls shaking.

Hamsuardi, the district chief of West Pasaman, said Friday’s earthquake damaged dozens of homes and buildings, including his office. Authorities are still collecting information on the true extent of the damage in the affected areas.

In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.

Indonesia has a number of seismic faults and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A powerful earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.

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