Strong quake off Sumatra sparks panic

Strong quake off Sumatra sparks panic

A strong earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra on Wednesday
prompting panic on the island off Simeulue, which was hit by
massive tremors earlier this year, witnesses said.

Inhabitants of Sinabang, the main town on the island of
Simeulue, rushed out of their homes and offices and gathered in
the streets after the tremor hit at 1:28 am, witnesses said,
quoted by AFP.

Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Office said the quake,
centered some 33 kilometers under the ocean floor and 95 km
southwest of Sinabang, measured 5.8 on the Richter scale.

The Hong Kong observatory measured the largest tremor at 6.3.

Simeulue was earlier hit by an 8.7-magnitude quake on March 28
that killed 900 people and caused large-scale damage to
buildings.

Wednesday's quake, while significant, was not strong enough to
produce a tsunami, a meteorology office official, Hardi, was
quoted as saying by AP.

Indonesia has been repeatedly rocked by temblors after a
massive 9.3 earthquake and tsunami hit North Sumatra coast on
Dec. 26, killing more than 130,000 people and leaving thousands
more homeless.

Fears of further massive quakes, have led local bodies to
prepare disaster contingency plans in at-risk areas.

The tsunami has also prompted the government to set up a
tsunami early warning system it claims will be able to predict
incoming killer waves only five minutes after an initial
earthquake.

The system would be supported by 10 regional centers and would
be integrated by a national center that would further disseminate
a real-time warning to areas across the Indian and Pacific Ocean,
said Wendy Aritonang, of the science application division of the
Office of the State Minister for Research and Technology,
recently. -- Agencies