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