印尼卫生官员说，苏门答腊岛附近的海上发生强烈地震，导致21人死亡。
美国地质调查局说，这次地震的震级为里氏7点9级，震中在雅加达西北部靠近巴东市附近的600公里处。
路透社说，数以千计的人被困在倒塌的建筑中。包括马来西亚首都吉隆坡在内的周围地区都有震感。数以百计的人从写字楼疏散。 太平洋海啸警报中心取消了此前向该地区发布的海啸警报。
印尼是世界上最大的群岛，由于地处太平洋火圈，很容易发生地震。太平洋火圈是环绕太平洋盆地的火山弧和断层线。
Indonesian health officials say 21 people were killed by a powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra island.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 7.6 and was centered 600 kilometers northwest of Jakarta, near the city of Padang.
Officials say thousands of people are trapped in collapsed buildings.Tremors from the quake were felt around the region, including the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, where hundreds of people were evacuated from office buildings.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled a tsunami alert issued earlier for the region.
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. It is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.