Quake hits Padang, thousands flee

Agencies, Jakarta

Thousands of people have fled their homes to higher ground in Padang after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake shook the West Sumatra provincial capital on Sunday.

Antara reported that a convoy of vehicles left the coastal areas for Kuranji, Lubuk Begalung and Lubuk Kilangan Indarung subdistricts. People appeared unprepared for their exodus, with their vehicles not being loaded up with belongings.

In the downtown area, broken windows could be seen in some buildings.

Residents have reported at least five aftershocks since the quake occurred at around 5.30 p.m. People in Padang had been warned of the possibility of further earthquakes following a major earthquake that hit the island of Nias on March 28.

A United States-run tsunami alert center said later in the day there was no threat of massive tidal waves, after the powerful earthquake struck Padang.

"This earthquake is located outside the Pacific. No tsunami threat exists to coastlines in the Pacific," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii said in a statement on its website.

The center, which is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, noted however that "earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a few hundred kilometers to the earthquake epicenter," and urged local authorities to "be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action."