At least 97 people were killed and dozens were missing after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the northern Indonesian province of Aceh, officials said.
Indonesian search and rescue teams used earth movers to clear rubble and reach what authorities believed were dozens of victims trapped underneath.
"So far 97 people have been killed and the number keeps growing," Aceh's military chief told AFP.
The number of casualties was expected to rise and more than 80 people had been seriously injured, Sutopo Nugroho of the national disaster management agency said in a statement.
An official at the Aceh search and rescue agency, said: "Dozens are missing but we don't have accurate data on the total yet."
Hundreds of homes, mosques and shops had collapsed, while a local hospital and school were heavily damaged, he added.
Officials urged people to sleep outdoors as twilight fell, in case aftershocks caused more damage to already precarious buildings.
President Joko Widodo was expected to visit the area on Thursday, his deputy told media.
Today’s quake hit the east coast of the province, about 170km from the provincial capital Banda Aceh.
Images on television and social media showed victims being rushed to hospital, flattened buildings and fallen electricity poles, and people gathering outside at street corners.
"The earthquake was felt strongly and many people panicked and rushed outdoors as houses collapsed," Mr Nugroho said.
Heavy machinery was being used in the search for victims, another search and rescue official in Aceh explained.
A volunteer for the Indonesian Red Crescent described scenes of heavy damage and said many people had been injured.
"There isn't enough medical staff around," he said on local television.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck just after 5am local time at a depth of 17km on Aceh's northeastern coast. No tsunami warning was issued.
At least five aftershocks were felt in the hours after the initial quake, the disaster management agency said.
Aceh was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami centred on its western coast near Banda Aceh on 26 December 2004.
That tsunami killed 226,000 people along Indian Ocean shorelines.
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