Zee Media Bureau/Yamini Maggo
Jakarta: A 6.2-magnitude shallow undersea earthquake has hit parts of western Indonesian island of Sumatra today, prompting panicked people to run out of their homes. But there are no immediate reports of casualties.
The epicenter of the tremor was located at sea at a shallow depth of 9.8 kilometers, more than 300 km Southwest of the city of Banda Aceh,the capital of Aceh province.
The quake occurred at around 7:00 am (0630 IST).
"The quake was felt strongly for a few seconds by residents on the west coast," said National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
"Some people ran out of their homes."
But he added there had been no reports of damage.
Indonesia lies in a junction of Pacific Ring of Fire & Mediterranian Mountain Ranges, which causes frequent seismic activity.
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 province.
With agency inputs
First Published: Sunday, May 18, 2014, 08:50
