Strong quake jolts Indonesia’s Sumatra; no threat to Maldives

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on early Tuesday, according to the Maldives Meteorological Service.

The quake originated offshore from Sumatra's northeastern tip at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers.

The Maldives Meteorological Service said the quake occurred 2,581 kilometers from the Maldivian capital, Male’, at 09:56 am local time.

“There is no threat to the Maldives,” said the agency.

Indonesia’s Sumatra region experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from Tuesday’s quake.