earthquake in Singapore
USGS

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck west of Indonesia's island of Sumatra on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. According to reports, tremors were felt in Singapore as well.

The authorities said that the quake hit at a depth of 67 km, at a distance of 81 km west of the city of Bengkulu. However, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in the quake.

"The earthquake was quite strong and shallow, it was felt all the way to Padang, West Sumatra, but there was no threat of a tsunami," Mochammad Riyadi, an official at Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency told AFP.

Bengkulu resident Neng Hasnah said that the tremors were felt very strongly for a few seconds. It forced her to flee her house along with her family members. "I was carrying my seven-month old granddaughter and I had to run, all the neighbours also ran outside their homes," Hasnah told AFP.

Singaporeans living in Toa Payoh and Farrer Road said that they also felt tremors. "Tremors felt in Lor 1 Toa Payoh at around 11.10am," Andrew Tan told Channel NewsAsia through WhatsApp.

Some residents also posted on twitter, wondering whether the tremors were a result of an earthquake in the region.

Indonesia, sits on the highly seismically active zone "Pacific Ring of Fire", where many continental plates on the earth's crust keep colliding, Sumatra also experiences frequent earthquakes.

In December 2016, an earthquake struck Indonesia's western Aceh province killing more than 100 people, injuring many more and leaving tens of thousands homeless.