A strong, shallow undersea earthquake has hit parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, causing panic but there are no immediate reports of casualties.
The U.S. Geological Survey says Sunday’s 6.2-magnitude quake at a depth of 9 kilometres beneath the sea was centred 319 kilometres southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province.
Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency put a preliminary magnitude at 6.4 and says it had no potential to trigger a tsunami.
Suhardjono, the agency official who like many Indonesians uses one name, said the quake was felt across many parts of the province, causing panic among some residents.
In 2004, a monster temblor off Aceh triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Most of the deaths were in Aceh.
