FACTBOX-Indonesia's Nias island at a glance

Wed, 30 Mar 2005

JAKARTA, March 29 (Reuters) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 off the west coast of Sumatra has killed hundreds on the Indonesian island of Nias, a popular destination with foreign and local surfers.

The quake struck late on Monday in nearly the same spot as a magnitude-9 event last Dec. 26 that triggered a huge tsunami which left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across the Indian Ocean region.

More than 100 people died on tropical, palm-fringed Nias as a result of that quake and tsunami. NIAS FACTS. - The island with some 700,000 residents is part of Indonesia's North Sumatra province. It lies 125 km (80 miles) off the west coast of Sumatra. Sibolga is the closest mainland city. - Around 95 percent of the residents on the 5,600 sq km (2,100 sq mile) island are Christian. The rest are Muslim. - Lagundri Bay on Nias is known as a surfers' paradise due to challenging waves up to 3 metres high peeling off notorious right-hand reef breaks. - The main town, Gunungsitoli, is on the east coast. Its airport was damaged by the latest quake.

REUTERS

GetRTR 3.00 -- MAR 29, 2005 14:46:55

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