Banda Aceh: A powerful earthquake
hit off the coast of western Indonesia early today, prompting
officials to briefly issue a tsunami warning.
Panicked residents ran from their homes, some fleeing to
high ground by car or motorcycle, but there were no reports of
injuries or serious damage.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-7.3 quake
struck 420 kilometers off the coast of Aceh province just
after midnight. It was centered 30 kilometers beneath the
ocean floor.
People in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh still deeply
traumatized by the 2004 monster quake and tsunami poured into
the streets as sirens blared from local mosques. Some headed
to the hills, choking roads with traffic.
People in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh still deeply
traumatized by the 2004 monster quake and tsunami poured into
the streets as sirens blared from local mosques. Some headed
to the hills, choking roads with traffic.
"I`m afraid," said Fera, a resident, who skidded off on
her motorbike with her two children and her mother.
In the town of Simeulue, patients were evacuated from a
hospital.
Officials contacted by The Associated Press in several
coastal cities, however, had not received any reports about
injuries or significant damage.
Nearly two hours after the quake, the local geological
agency lifted its tsunami warning.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its
location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and
fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
A giant quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered
a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, half
of them in Aceh.
PTI
