Monday, May
10
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP) - – A powerful quake with a magnitude
of at least 7.2 hit the Indonesian province of Aceh on Sunday,
causing panic in an area that was devastated by the killer waves of
the 2004 tsunami.
Coastal residents fled from their homes and headed inland fearing a
destructive tsunami but officials said no casualties were reported,
although one official said part of a school under construction
collapsed.
The quake hit at 12:59 pm (0559 GMT) 66 kilometres (41 miles)
southwest of Meulaboh on the Aceh coast on the island of Sumatra,
according to the local Meteorological and Geophysics Agency.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.4.
A local tsunami alert was issued by the Indonesian government but
lifted about 90 minutes later.
The people of Aceh are still traumatised by memories of December
26, 2004, when the Indian Ocean smashed into the northern tip of
Sumatra after a 9.3-magnitude quake split the seabed to the
island's west.
An AFP correspondent in the provincial capital Banda Aceh said the
ground shook for about three minutes on Sunday, sending people
rushing from their homes and heading inland on motorcycles, cars
and trishaws.
"This quake turned out not to be destructive. There's no report of
damage to buildings, anyone injured or killed so far," Disaster
Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono told AFP.
"There were many people who panicked and fled their homes. They
were just so afraid that a tsunami would happen again," he
added.
Part of a school building which was under construction on the tiny
island of Simeulue south of Meulaboh has collapsed, local chief
Darmili said, adding that there were no reports of damage
elsewhere.
Indonesia was the nation hardest hit in the 2004 tsunami, one of
the world's deadliest natural disasters, with at least 168,000
people killed out of more than 220,000 who lost their lives across
the region.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where the meeting of
continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and
is frequently rattled by quakes.
Sunday's quake off Meulaboh, which lies on the northwestern tip of
Sumatra, struck at a depth of 30 kilometres (18 miles), the local
agency said, while the USGS put the depth at 61 kilometres.
Meulaboh was near the epicentre of the 2004 quake and one of the
hardest hit areas, with around 40,000 people killed and more than
50,000 people left homeless.
The killer tidal wave had flattened the coastal city, destroying
houses, roads and bridges destroyed and bringing down power and
telephone lines.
"Although there's no tsunami, Meulaboh residents had panicked and
would stay alert. They're still outside, scared to return to their
homes," West Aceh district deputy head Fuadri told AFP after
Sunday's quake.
In neighbouring Malaysia, the Meteorological Department said
tremors were felt in the west coast of peninsular Malaysia
including the resort island of Penang.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Sumatra in early April, leaving
about 17 people injured when some houses collapsed.
In September last year, a 7.6-magnitude quake killed about 1,000
people in the port of Padang, western Sumatra, in September last
year.