Two moderate quake hits Nias island

Two moderate quake hits Nias island

JAKARTA: Two moderate earthquakes measuring more than 5.0 on the Richter scale struck Nias island off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island Monday but there were no reports of damage or casualties, the meteorology and geophysics office here said. The first quake measured 5.3 on the Richter and struck at 6:31 am (23:31 GMT Sunday), with an epicenter 33 kilometers below ground some 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of the main town Gunung Sitoli, Agus from the office told AFP.

The second temblor measured 5.1 and hit at 7:16 am (0016 GMT), its center also 33 kilometers underground and some 35 kilometers southwest of Gunung Sitoli, Agus said later.

It was not classified as an aftershock of the first, he said.

Both quakes were felt in Gunung Sitoli but there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties, Agus added.

A local journalist in the town said most people rushed out of their homes when the first quake hit but returned inside shortly after conditions calmed.

The second quake caused less panic, he said later.

Nias was one of the Indonesian areas hit by a 9.3-magnitude quake off the coast of Sumatra that triggered tsunamis last December 26 in which at least 217,000 people died around the Indian Ocean.

That disaster claimed some 2,000 lives in Nias, while another major quake in March killed more than 600.

Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity. -- AFP