An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 occurred off the coast of Indonesia, reports the US Geological survey (USGS).
Tremors were recorded Friday in 20.04 in UTC time (23.04 MSK) in 120 kilometers to the South-West of the city of Padangsidempuan. The focus lies at a depth of 24.3 kilometer.
Information on casualties or damage were reported. The threat of a tsunami has not been announced.
Indonesia is the most seismically active area of the planet and is part of the so-called Pacific ring of fire (powerful tectonic fault). In this area of the world are the most active tectonic plates, one of which moves with a speed of seven centimeters a year. Annually seismologists register here 6-7 thousand earthquakes of magnitude above 4.0.
In 2004, at the North-West coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra was the strongest in the world over the preceding 40 years earthquake. The resulting tsunami caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in 12 Indian ocean countries.
