Malaysiakini report : 8.7-magnitude quake off Sumatra, tsunami warning

An earthquake of 8.7 magnitude struck off the coast of Indonesia today at 4.38pm Malaysian time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

It sent residents there and in India dashing out of their homes and offices in fear. A tsunami warning was issued for the whole Indian Ocean.

The quake struck 500km southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, at a depth of 33km, the USGS said.

The epicentre was about 962km west of Kuala Lumpur and tremors were reportedly felt, among others, in Subang Jaya, Penang and Alor Setar.

The quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, residents said.
Hundreds of office workers in the Indian city of Bangalore left their buildings, workers there said.

The quake was in roughly in the same area as a Dec 26, 2004, quake of 9.1 magnitude, which sent huge tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed, and across the Indian Ocean.

In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

The 2004 quake was at a depth of 30km along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.

Rescue team to Aceh 

The quake was also felt in Sri Lanka and the southern Thai holiday island of Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.
Thai Meteorological Department deputy chief Somchai Baimoung said there was no tsunami warning yet in Thailand.

Provincial officials along the Andaman Sea coast were preparing for possible evacuation if necessary.
Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency is sending a rescue team to Aceh, after the quake knocked out the province's electricity and send locals scrambling for higher ground.

"The quake was felt very strongly. Electricity is down, there's traffic jams to access higher ground.
"Sirens and Quran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said Sutopo, spokesperson for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, in Jakarta.

- Reuters