Great Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Large 7.4 Earthquake off Indonesia's Aceh triggers tsunami
alert
An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 has struck offshore near the Indonesian
island of Sumatra, near Aceh province.
The quake struck 214km (133 miles) south of Aceh's capital of Banda
Aceh, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
A local tsunami alert was issued and later lifted by the Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center.
The site is very near that of 2004's 9.2 magnitude earthquake. About
250,000 people were killed in the Indian Ocean tsunami the quake
triggered.
The epicentre of the latest quake was at a depth of 61.4km, about 66km
(41 miles) south-west of Meulaboh district, the USGS said.
The district, and other parts of Aceh, were devastated in the 26
December 2004 earthquake.
The quake hit at 1259 (0559 GMT). Local media reported some houses were
damaged and power lines knocked down, Associated Press news agency said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its tsunami watch several
hours after the earthquake.
Residents of Aceh after the earthquake - 9 May 2010
The earthquake caused some panic in parts of Aceh
"Sea level readings indicate that a significant tsunami was not
generated," the Hawaii-based centre said in a statement on its website.
"Therefore, the tsunami watch issued by this center is now cancelled."
The USGS earlier said it believed there was no threat of a destructive,
widespread tsunami but the possibility of a local tsunami existed.
Indonesia is located on the volatile Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of
tectonic activity girdling the Pacific Ocean that triggers earthquakes
and volcanic activity.
Aceh is on the north-western tip of Sumatra, one of Indonesia's main
islands, and is frequently rocked by earthquakes.
One last year near Padang in West Sumatra province killed more than
1,000 people.
About 170,000 people were killed in Aceh from the 2004 earthquake and
the tsunami it launched.
The waves spread across the Indian Ocean to cause death and destruction
as far away as Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand.