Strong 6.1 magnitude rocks Western Indonesia

A shallow 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Mentawai on Saturday, but no tsunami warning was issued.

There were no initial reports of damages or casualty.

The main shock struck at 4:27 p.m. Jakarta time (0927 GMT).

The earthquake hit at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) in the Mentawai island region in West Sumatra province, some 100 kilometers southeast of the town of Tuapejat and 200 kilometers south of the major port city of Padang, according to the USGS.

The jolts were felt strong in Sikakap sub-district of Kepulauan Mentawai district, but there were no initial reports of damages or casualty, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster management agency told media

Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth due to its position straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.

Mentawai was hit by a tsunami in 2010 which killed more than 400 people and Padang suffered from a deadly earthquake in 2009 where more than 1,100 lives were lost.

Last year, the Indonesian archipelago was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island which killed around 2,200 people.

At the end of the year, an erupting volcano in the middle of the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra islands killed more than 400 people.