Indonesia: Quake jolts Banda Aceh

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale rocked the western coast of tsunami-hit Aceh province on Thursday, but there were no reports of damage or casualties, meteorologists said. The under-sea quake occurred at 08:42 a.m. and its epicenter was 33 kilometers under the floor of the sea, some 17 kilometers southeast of Meulaboh, the main town in the West Aceh district, they said.

The earthquake was strongly felt in Meulaboh, which was devastated by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on Dec. 26. "There are no reports of damage or injuries so far," said a meteorologist from the National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency here. Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.


(Source: Xinhuanet)