Strong earthquake hits off Indonesia's Sumatra

[News_Editor]

Strong earthquake hits off Indonesia's Sumatra

2011-01-26 23:22:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia on late Wednesday evening, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 5.8-magnitude earthquake at 10.42 p.m. local time (1542 GMT) was centered about 230 kilometers (145 miles) west of Sibolga, a city on the west coast of North Sumatra province. It struck about 21 kilometers (13 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the country's seismological agency.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.1 on the Richter scale, considerably stronger than Indonesia's own estimate. The USGS estimated that some 3,000 people could have felt strong shaking, which may result in light to moderate damage.

Indonesia's seismological agency said there was no threat of a tsunami.

Indonesia is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

On December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. The 9.1-magnitude earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami, striking scores of countries. In all, at least 227,898 people were killed.

Most recently, on October 25, a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck just off the Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra. As a result, a wall of water killed at least 435 people on the islands and impacted more than 20 villages.

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