Banda Aceh, Indonesia A powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake and a series of strong aftershocks struck off Indonesia yesterday, sending people scurrying from buildings as far away as southern India, but there seemed little risk of a disastrous tsunami as in 2004.
Indonesia said it was checking for damage and casualties but remarkably, no such reports had been received for several hours after the quakes, including in Aceh, the closest province and the area decimated by the disaster eight years ago.
However, some areas close to the epicentre are remote so it could take some time to find out if there was any damage.
Many people were frightened of further tremors.
"It's dark out here but I am scared to go home," said Mila, a 41-year-old woman taking refuge in the grand mosque in the town of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. "I just want to stay alert because I fear there will be more quakes coming. We are human, it is only natural that we have fear, but I really wish we will all be safe."
Waves of up to one metre were seen near islands off Aceh, but Indonesia cancelled a warning for fresh tsunamis. The first quake struck at 0838 GMT and an 8.2 magnitude aftershock just over two hours later, at 1043 GMT. Two more strong aftershocks hit later.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre also withdrew tsunami warnings for the entire Indian Ocean after keeping them in force for several hours. "Level readings now indicate that the threat has diminished or is over for most areas," it's bulletin said.
Thailand and India also withdrew tsunami warnings. Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India were all badly hit in 2004.
The quakes were about 500 kilometres southwest of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, the US Geological survey said. The first was at a depth of 33 kilometres.
Indonesia's disaster management agency said power failed in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger. "The warning system worked," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said later.
The tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok and, in southern India, hundreds of office workers in the city of Bengaluru left their buildings while the port of Chennai closed down because of tsunami fears. The earthquakes were in roughly in the same area as the 2004 quake along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.
The quakes were also felt in Sri Lanka, where office workers in Colombo fled their offices.
In Bangladesh, where two tremors were felt, authorities said there appeared to be no threat of a tsunami. Australia also said there was no threat of a tsunami there.
