Powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia's Sumatra island
03 Mar 2026
A powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The quake was centered about 65km southeast of Sinabang city.
The temblor struck off the island's west coast and was felt as far away as North Sumatra, authorities said, forcing people to flee outdoors in a region used to deadly earth tremors.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a hotspot for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Sumatra region is home to frequent earthquakes
Tectonic convergence
The Sumatra region sits on a major tectonic collision zone that stretches over 8,000km from Papua in the east to the Himalayan front in the west.
The Sumatra-Andaman section of the tectonic collision zone is a subduction megathrust along the Sunda-Java trench.
Here, the Indo-Australia and Sunda plates converge, fueling intense seismic and volcanic activity in the region.
The movement of these tectonic plates is responsible for frequent earthquakes on Sumatra island.
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