Magnitude 6.5 Quake Hits Off Indonesia

A magnitude 6.5 quake rattled two islands off the coast of Sumatra on Saturday, triggering a tsunami alert and panicking some residents, officials said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The quake's epicenter was located off Simeulue Island, about 160 miles southwest of Medan on Sumatra's west coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck just after 9 p.m. local time.

The island is near the epicenter of the Dec. 26 quake that caused a massive tsunami, killing at least 180,000 people. Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency put the magnitude at 6.2, saying it was centered 19 miles under the Indian Ocean seabed, about 40 miles southwest of Sinabang, the main town on Simeulue island.

Rusdi, a resident of Sinabang contacted by The Associated Press, said the quake was felt there, but did not cause any widespread panic in the town. He uses only one name. The quake strongly jolted nearby Nias island and was felt in Medan, said Subagio, an official at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency's Jakarta office who goes by a single name. Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of Nias, told El Shinta radio station that some people momentarily fled their houses when the temblor struck.

"It was pretty strong because it was the first time in the past months that people ran out of houses because of a quake," Mendrofa said from the island's main town of Gunung Sitoli.

He said he had received no reports of damage elsewhere on the island. Saturday's tsunami alert was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.


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