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Residents of Indonesia's Sumatra island were shaken late Tuesday by a powerful underwater earthquake, but no significant injuries or damage were immediately reported.

The US Geological Survey reported that the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.0, had its epicentre 117 kilometres (72 miles) south of Pagar Alam city in South Sumatra province at a depth of 59 kilometres (36 miles).

According to witnesses, many locals fled their homes for higher ground after hearing about the tsunami threat, but afterwards received text messages confirming this.

The 6.5 magnitude earthquake, according to the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, was too deep to cause a tsunami.

Due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines, Indonesia, a huge archipelago with 270 million inhabitants, is frequently affected by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck West Sumatra province in February resulted in at least 25 fatalities and over 460 injuries. A magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck West Sulawesi province in January 2021 resulted in more than 100 fatalities and approximately 6,500 injuries.