Aceh rattled by new quake

2005-03-14 10:05

Jakarta - A strong aftershock rattled Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh on Monday morning, the latest in a series of tremblers to shake the devastated province after the December disaster that left more than 220 000 people dead or missing.

The latest earthquake, measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale, shook Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of the province, at 5:21am local time on Monday, said Syahnan, head of Banda Aceh's Meteorology and Geophysics office.

"The new quake's epicentre was in the Indian Ocean, located at 4.81 degree north latitude and 95.07 degree east longitude," Syahnan said, adding that it occurred about 78.5km southwest of Banda Aceh.

During the past three days, Banda Aceh has been rattled by shocks with magnitudes ranging from 5.0 and 5.7 on the Richter scale. All have taken place in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of the province, he said.

Syahnan said there were no reports of further damage from the new quake. He added that more aftershocks would still continue to shake Aceh province in the coming weeks.

Syahnan appealed to the Acehnese community, in particular residents of Banda Aceh, not to panic should more aftershocks hit the province, assuring them that the new aftershocks would not trigger more tsunamis.

Aceh, 1 750km northwest of Jakarta, was hardest hit by the December 26 disaster because it was closest to the epicentre of the magnitude-9.0 quake that triggered gigantic tidal waves. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA