Potent quake rocks Indonesia
2005-04-10 22:20
Jakarta - A powerful earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Monday hours after an earlier tremor in the same area had sparked fears of a repeat of the tsunami disaster, seismologists said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The quake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit at 01:30 (17:30 GMT) with its epicentre estimated off the coast about 100 kilometres southwest of the Sumatran town of Padang, the Hong Kong observatory said.
An earlier quake hit Sunday near Siberut Island, 109 kilometres southwest of Painan, a neighbouring town to Padang, causing panic among residents fearful of another tsunami.
The tremors come two weeks after a massive 8.7 earthquake centred on the same Indian Ocean geological faultline killed more than 600 people as scores of concrete buildings collapsed on the Indonesian island of Nias.
A deadly earthquake last December generated a massive tidal wake that killed some 273 000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean.
- SAPA