Massive earthquake kills at least 97 people and injures hundreds more in area of Indonesia devastated by 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Rescue crews are sifting through rubble by hand to find those trapped below
At least 97 people have died and hundreds are injured after a strong earthquake struck Aceh province on Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday, an official said.
The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake hit Pidie Jaya district at dawn, toppling homes, flattening buildings and sending people running for higher ground. There was no tsunami alert.
The death toll has continued to rise as rescue crews sift through the rubble, sometimes by hand, to find those trapped below.
Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says the death toll from the Aceh earthquake could swell as people are believed trapped in the debris of collapsed buildings.
He added: "Those figures are expected to rise given the massive destruction."
Hundreds of homes, mosques and shops have collapsed, while a local hospital and school were heavily damaged, he added.
The earthquake was felt across much of Aceh, which was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.
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A woman in the worst-hit district near the epicentre of Indonesia's earthquake says she fled with her husband and children to a nearby hill after the quake jolted the family awake early Wednesday. They stayed there for several hours until authorities reassured them there was no tsunami risk.
Seaside resident Fitri Abidin in Pidie Jaya district says: "It terrified me. I was having difficulty breathing or walking."
She says her husband grabbed hold of her and carried her out of the house as their children were crying.
She says: "We ran to a nearby hill, because our house is near a beach. We were afraid a tsunami can come at any time."
The family's house didn't collapse but the homes of some neighbors did. Abidin is traumatized because she believes three friends were buried in building collapses.
Indonesia is still badly scarred by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami which killed more than 230,000 people.
The shattering tsunami affected 14 different countries and caused devastation and havoc for its victims, leaving ten million people homeless.