Strong earthquake hits Indonesian island
Pastor Dale Morgan
Strong earthquake hits Indonesian island *
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 27, 2006 8:47 a.m. ET
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A strong earthquake rocked parts of
Indonesia's North and West Sumatra provinces Wednesday. There were no
immediate reports of a tsunami. The 6.1-magnitude earthquake occurred at
6:16 p.m. (7:16 a.m. EDT) and was centered under the Indian Ocean about
60 miles northwest off Nias island, said Lukito, an official at the
Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
He said the quake was felt in Gunung Sitoli, the main town on Nias
island, in the North Sumatra towns of Porsea and Sibolga, and in Padang,
the capital of West Sumatra.
"It strongly jolted Gunung Sitoli, but so far, we have not yet received
any report of damage or casualties," said Lukito, who uses one name.
A tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake killed some 600 Indonesians
last week.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval
due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of
volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.