M5.1 earthquake near Barus, North Sumatra

What happened

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 75 km WSW of Sibolga, Indonesia on 6 Jan 2017, 10:24 UTC at a depth of 42 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Barus, about 61 km away in North Sumatra, Indonesia.