Christians Feel Impact Of Indonesian Earthquake

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JAKARTA (Worthy News) – An earthquake of at least 6 magnitude hit the northern part of Indonesia’s Sumatra island Sunday, and Christians living there told Worthy News they could feel the impact in their home.

“Even the third floor of my home in the city of Medan was shaking,” said a Christian, who regularly organizes prayer and worship meetings there.

The woman who identifies herself only as Victoria in the Muslim area for security reasons did not organize a Christian service on Sunday, so “nobody was injured, thanks to God.”

The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said the quake struck northern Sumatra at a depth of 89 kilometers (55.3 miles).

While it estimated the quake at a magnitude 6, Thailand’s researchers spoke of a 6.3 quake at a lower depth. The differences could not immediately be reconciled.

Witnesses told Worthy News the quake shook the provinces of North Sumatra and neighboring Aceh, Indonesia’s strict Islamic province with a special status on the northern end of Sumatra island.

Sunday’s quake in Indonesia was also felt in nearby countries, including the island of Penang, a Malaysian state on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca.

ISLANDERS WORRY

Many Penangites, especially those living in high-rise buildings, reportedly felt the quake about 500 kilometers (312 miles) away.

In Pulau Tikus, Penang state, Aaron Tan, 36, who lives on the seventh floor of an apartment, told the media the tremors “lasted slightly over a minute, and I could even see the chair moving.”

He wasn’t alone. Residents in Thailand’s Trang, Satun, and Phuket provinces also felt the tremor, according to authorities there.

The Earthquake Surveillance Division of the Thai Meteorological Department reported that “at 3.57 p.m. Thailand time on May 11, 2025, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred with its epicentre in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.”

While there were no immediate reports of casualties, the quake happened while much of Asia was still reeling from a recent deadly earthquake in Myanmar, also known as Burma. “An estimated 3,800 people have died as a result of the devastating earthquakes that struck Myanmar” on March 28, the United Nations said. “Six weeks on, the situation in Myanmar remains dire, with whole communities still traumatised and vulnerable.”

The March 28 quake was also felt in other countries, including neighboring China and Thailand, where dozens were killed and injured when a skyscraper under construction collapsed in Bangkok.

The region is known for earthquakes due to its location in a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. The so-called “Ring of Fire” impacts mainly Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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