Earthquake: Earthquake Hits Indonesia, Tsunami Warning

Indonesia is under a tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake hit off the western coast of Sumatra Island early Wednesday.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered 18 miles beneath the ocean floor and struck 260 miles off the coast of Aceh province.There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. A local police spokesman told the Associated Press that there did not appear to be any serious damage.

The earthquake lasted for about 30 seconds, and residents in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, rushed out of their homes in fear, an AFP reporter said. They later returned indoors.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement saying “a destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist,” but warned local agencies within 100 kilometers of the epicenter to watch for a local tsunami.

An official with Indonesia’s geological agency confirmed that a tsunami warning had been issued along the Sumatran coast.

Indonesia is part of the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcano eruptions occur. On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean just off Sumatra’s west coast. It triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14 countries, with the highest number in the Banda Aceh province.

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