Magnitude 7.4 quake in Indonesia damages hospital, sends locals racing to higher ground

The quake was at a depth of 20 km. SCREENGRAB: USGS

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP): A strong undersea earthquake early Tuesday sent streams of people fleeing to higher ground in western Indonesia before the tsunami danger passed.

Footage released by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency showed streams of people in a village on Mentawai Island fled to the highlands by foot and motorcycles under the rain in darkness, while some patients at the village’s hospital were evacuated to its yard as cracks showed in the facility’s floor.