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Indonesia rocked by earthquake

<img alt=“shake map ind quake map.jpg” src=“https://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/shake%20map%20ind%20quake%20map.jpg” width=“385” height=“383” align=“right” border=0 hspace=“10px”/>An earthquake in Indonesia has killed at least 75 people and trapped several thousand under collapsed buildings.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a 7.6 magnitude quake at 10:16 UTC, followed by a 5.5 magnitude quake at 10:38 UTC.

The epicentre of the first was 45 km west-northwest of Padang in Indonesia while the second was 40 km northwest of Padang says the USGS.

“This is a high-scale disaster, more powerful than the earthquake in Yogyakarta in 2006 when more than 3,000 people died,” says the country’s health minister Siti Fadilah Supari (MetroTV via AP).

A number of news sources say 75 people have died and more deaths are expected to be reported as thousands are missing in collapsed buildings.

A tsunami warning for the earthquake has been cancelled.

Image: USGS shake map, key below.

shake map ind quake key.jpg

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