Major quake strikes off Sumatra

March 02, 2016 06:44 pm | Updated 08:06 pm IST - JAKARTA

Authorities lifted a tsunami warning for Indonesia's Sumatra island that was issued following a major earthquake off the western part of the island, TVRI said on Wednesday quoting an official with the meterological agency.

The warning was issued for West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh after the quake of magnitude 7.9, the National Meteorolgical Agency said.

The epicentre was 808 km southwest of Padang, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was 10 km deep.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but the shallower a quake, the more likely it is to cause damage. USGS originally put the magnitude at 8.2, and then 8.1, before lowering it to 7.9.

Indonesia, especially Aceh, was badly hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

The country straddles the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

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