Earthquake Hits Sumatra

By Barrie | March 30th, 2008 | No Comments

A strong undersea earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck early Sunday off the western coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province, but there have been no reports of injury or damage, officials said. The quake jolted at 12:30 am (1730 GMT Saturday) with epicentre at 113 kilometres north-west of Sinabang, the main town on the remote Simeulue island off the western coast of Aceh, about 30 kilometres beneath the seabed, said an official of the country’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.

The quake was followed by a 5.1 Richter scale aftershock two hours later, said the official, who identified herself only as Fina, adding that there were no reports of injuries or structural damage from the quakes as of Sunday morning.

On February 20, a 7.5-magnitude quake rocked Simeulue island, killing at least three people and seriously injuring 25.

On December 2004, a massive 9-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck nine Asian nations and killed 177,000 people in Indonesia’s Aceh province alone.

Indonesia is at a vulnerable zone, the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where two continental plates stretching from the western hemisphere through Japan and South-East Asia meet, causing frequent earthquakes.

Source: Earthtimes.org