PASAMAN, Indonesia: A strong and shallow earthquake shook Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Friday, killing seven people and injuring 85, while causing panic on the island and in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck about 66 kilometers (41 miles) north-northwest of Bukittinggi, a hilly town in West Sumatra province, according to the US Geological Survey. It was centered about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) below the Earth’s surface.
At least four people, including two children, were killed in Pasaman district and three people died in the neighboring district of West Pasaman. At least 410 houses and buildings were damaged, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
More than 5,000 people fled their homes to temporary shelters, mostly in devastated areas of Pasaman and West Pasaman districts, agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
“We are still focusing on search and rescue efforts for the victims,” Muhari said.
Authorities were still investigating the full extent of the damage.
People ran out of their houses looking for safer places when the earthquake struck, said Ahmad Nur, a resident of Talamau village in West Pasaman district. He said he was preparing to open his shop in a nearby market and returned home to check on his family. His house was damaged and his wife was in pain because her leg had been hit by debris, he said.
“Thank God ... my wife and our two kids managed to escape when the walls started to tumble,” Nur said. “The quake destroyed everything in my house, but I’m grateful that my wife and children are safe ... with only minor injuries.”
He said he and other survivors set up makeshift tents near the government office and were awaiting relief from the government or volunteers.
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency, said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks.
Television reports showed panicked people rushing into the streets in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, and patients in a hospital in West Pasaman being evacuated from the building. The reports also showed streams filled with mud from landslides triggered by the earthquake, and a mosque, a school and several houses that were flattened.
People in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore also felt the tremors. A video on social media showed residents gathering in the streets after high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur swayed for a few seconds. Witnesses said their doors and chairs shook and photos and paintings swayed on the walls.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake kills 7 on Indonesia’s Sumatra
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Magnitude 6.2 earthquake kills 7 on Indonesia’s Sumatra
Trump says Greenland will ‘work out’ after Denmark fails to bridge gap
- Trump has appeared emboldened on Greenland — which he views as in the US backyard — since ordering a deadly January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed president Nicolas Maduro
WASHINGTON, United States: US President Donald Trump held open the possibility Wednesday for a resolution on his designs over Greenland after Denmark’s top diplomat said he failed to change the administration’s mind on wanting to conquer the island.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous territory under Copenhagen’s sovereignty, met at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a meeting the visitors had requested to clear up “misunderstandings” after Trump’s bellicose language toward the fellow NATO member.
Trump, speaking after the meeting which he did not attend, for the first time sounded conciliatory on Greenland, acknowledging Denmark’s interests even if he again said he was not ruling out any options.
“I have a very good relationship with Denmark, and we’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out,” Trump said without explaining further.
He again said Denmark was powerless if Russia or China wanted to occupy Greenland, but added: “There’s everything we can do.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, speaking after leaving the White House, said a US takeover of Greenland was “absolutely not necessary.”
“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Lokke told reporters.
“We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree.”
He said the issue was “very emotional” for the people of Greenland and Denmark, a steadfast US ally whose troops died alongside Americans in Afghanistan and, controversially, Iraq.
“Ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable,” Lokke said.
He nonetheless said the tone was “constructive” and said the sides would form a committee that would meet within weeks to see if there was possible headway.
Referring to the British prime minister who trumpeted his diplomacy with Hitler, Lokke said, “I am not a Chamberlain to say “Peace for our time,” but we must seize the opportunities that present themselves.”
Mocking tone
While the talks were underway, the White House posted on X: “Which way, Greenland man?“
The post included a drawing of two dogsleds — one heading toward the White House and a huge US flag, and the other toward Chinese and Russian flags over a lightning-bathed Kremlin and Great Wall of China.
Neither country has claimed Greenland, and Lokke said no Chinese ship had been spotted there in a decade and that there were no major Chinese investments.
Denmark promised ahead of the meeting to ramp up its military presence further in the vast, sparsely populated and strategically located island.
Trump has derided recent Danish efforts to increase security for Greenland as amounting to “two dogsleds.” Denmark says it has invested almost $14 billion in Arctic security.
Denmark also announced immediate military exercises that will include aircraft, vessels and soldiers, with Sweden also participating.
In another show of solidarity with Denmark following Trump’s threats, Germany and France both said Wednesday they will send troops to Greenland. German’s defense ministry said it would send a 13-person team.
Signs of relief
On the quiet streets of the capital Nuuk, red and white Greenlandic flags flew in shop windows, on apartment balconies, and on cars and buses, in a show of national unity during the talks.
Ivaana Egede Larsen, 43, said she felt relief that the meeting appeared to be cordial.
“I am more calm now, and I feel more safe. I had felt very much unsafe lately,” she said.
In Copenhagen, Thomas Fallesen, 56, voiced similar sentiments.
“They are now at least talking together instead of talking through the press. I think it’s a very positive thing,” he said.
Vance, who slammed Denmark as a “bad ally” during an uninvited visit to Greenland last year, is known for a hard edge, which was on display when he publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last February.
Wednesday’s meeting, however, was closed to the press, meaning there was no on-camera confrontation.
Trump has appeared emboldened on Greenland — which he views as in the US backyard — since ordering a deadly January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed president Nicolas Maduro.
