There have been no immediate reports of fatalities or damage from the rumble, although officials were still said to be examining the situation.
Mochammad Riyadi, an official at Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics, said: ““The earthquake was quite strong and shallow, it was felt all the way to Padang, West Sumatra, but there was no threat of a tsunami.”
The quake struck at a depth of 22 miles at 3.08am BST (10.08am local time) around 50 miles west of Bengkulu, but tremors were reportedly felt in Singapore, which is a whopping 368 miles from the Sumatra city.
Bengkulu resident Neng Hasnah said the tremor forced her and other family members to flee her house.
Hannah said: “I was carrying my seven-month old granddaughter and I had to run, all the neighbours also ran outside their homes.”