JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake jolted western Indonesia early today, killing three people, damaging buildings and sending panicked residents fleeing from homes, hotels and even a hospital.

The magnitude-6.6 quake hit about 1 a.m., waking people in towns and villages across Sumatra island's northern tip.

It was centered 60 miles southwest of the city of Medan and 62 miles beneath the Earth's crust, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was too far inland to generate a tsunami.

About 50 houses, along with a number of mosques, churches and hospitals, were damaged by the earthquake, and more than 250 shops and kiosks caught fire, due to power problems, the disaster agency said.