The head of the local disaster agency, Puteh Manaf, said the sole hospital in the district had been overwhelmed by the number of injured.
“The data we have now is that 25 people have been killed and hundreds are estimated to have suffered injuries,” he told AFP.
Local district secretary Iskandar Ali also confirmed the figure, citing preliminary data that showed at least 25 had died in the quake.
Rescue operations were under way to find those believed trapped beneath the rubble, with heavy machinery being used to shift the debris.
A witness said local residents were wandering the streets, unable to return to their damaged homes and fearing aftershocks.
Images from the scene showed homes levelled, mosque spires toppled and cars crushed under rubble.
Meureudu resident Hasbi Jaya, 37, said his family was asleep when the powerful quake struck.
“We immediately ran outside the house but it crumbled. Everything from the roof to the floor collapsed, and was destroyed,” he told AFP.
“I looked around and all my neighbours’ houses were also completely destroyed.”
