Jakarta, July 22 -- A shallow magnitude 5.5 inland earthquake struck Aceh's Gayo Lues Regency on Wednesday morning, sending strong tremors across the province and into neighboring North Sumatra.

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) urged the public to remain calm, stay clear of damaged or cracked structures, and ignore unverified rumors.

BMKG Director of Earthquakes and Tsunamis Wijayanto said the quake hit at 11:18 a.m. local time (0418 GMT) at a depth of 9 kilometers, centered 36 kilometers northeast of Gayo Lues.

"Based on the location of its epicenter and depth, this was a shallow earthquake triggered by activity along the Oreng Fault," Wijayanto said, adding that source mechanism analysis indicated a strike-s...