Director of the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati has warned of a potential tsunami from subsequent aftershocks following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake striking Majene city, West Sulawesi province, in the early hours of 15 January.

The epicentre of the quake was six kilometres northeast of Majene, at a depth of 10 kilometres.

In an online press conference, Karnawati said the aftershocks could be as strong, or stronger, than this morning's quake.

She has advised residents in the area to steer clear of high buildings and beaches because the follow up quake had the potential of triggering a tsunami or landslide.

It was reported that at least 34 people have been killed and hundreds of other injured while more were feared buried in the ruins. In Majene, rescue workers are trying to reach more than a dozen patients and staff trapped beneath the rubble of a hospital that was flattened by the quake.

Thousands of people have been displaced following the quake which damaged at least 60 houses.

The disaster mitigation agency said a hotel and the office of the West Sulawesi governor were also severely damaged, and electricity supplies were also down. Some roads and bridges were also damaged slowing down the rescue operations.

Straddling the so-called Pacific ‘ring of fire’, Indonesia, an archipelago of high tectonic activity, is regularly hit by earthquakes.

In 2018, a devastating 6.2 magnitude quake and tsunami struck the city of Palu, further north in Sulawesi, killing thousands of people.

Source: VNA