A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Sulawesi Island in central Indonesia early Friday, killing at least 42 people and injuring more than 600 others, Indonesian authorities said.
The authorities warned that with more than a dozen aftershocks having since occurred in the area, even larger quakes could strike, possibly causing tsunami.
The quake occurred 36 kilometers south of Mamuju, the capital of West Sulawesi Province, at 2:28 a.m. local time at a depth of 18.4 km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The temblor caused some landslides, cutting the main road connecting the provincial capital and another city, while damaging at least 300 houses. Blackouts occurred and the telecommunication network was disrupted.
About 15,000 people have been evacuated, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
The quake hit roughly 12 hours after a M5.7 quake in the same area.
The two quakes may have caused underwater landslides in coastal areas, Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, told a press conference. So if another strong quake occurs, it might cause tsunami, she added.
The early Friday quake "sent local residents into panic," disaster agency spokesman Raditya Jati said, adding that fortunately, many of them were still outside after the earlier, smaller one.
Video footage released by the agency shows a girl named Angel who was crying for help under the debris of her house, saying she could "still hear the voice" of her sister Catherine and other family members, but "I cannot move."
In the footage, rescuers said four people were seen under the debris but excavators were needed to save them.
Other video footage showed a father anguishing over the fate of his child trapped under the rubble of their house, a hospital flattened by the quake, the office of the West Sulawesi governor collapsing and a bridge being cracked.
President Joko Widodo has instructed authorities to take prompt measures to search for and rescue victims, and to give medical treatment to the injured.
Indonesia sits in one of the most active seismic regions in the world, the Pacific Ring of Fire, where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
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