Jakarta: A strong and shallow earthquake hit Indonesia's Sumatra island on Saturday, killing one resident, injuring 11 people and damaging more than a dozen homes and buildings.

The 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck about 40 kilometers (24.8 mi) northeast of Sibolga, a coastal city in North Sumatra province, according to the US Geological Survey. It went down 13 kilometers (8 mi).

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Two 5.0-magnitude aftershocks followed the pre-dawn quake.
According to local police chief Johansson Sianturi, a 62-year-old man died of a heart attack while escaping safely in the village of Tarutung, nearest to the epicenter. He said 11 people were injured and at least 15 houses and buildings were damaged.

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The full extent of the damage was still being investigated by the authorities. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency released video of several residents taking an injured man to hospital in a van, while terrified voices shouted for help. The agency also showed several people receiving treatment and walls damaged by the earthquake.

Due to its location on the "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin, Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.

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In February, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck West Sumatra province, killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 460. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured about 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.

In 2004, a powerful Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.