Death toll rising after Sumatra earthquake

JAKARTA - A massive 8.7 magnitude earthquake hit a small island off Indonesia's Sumatra, killing dozens of people, but fears across Asia of another huge tsunami soon receded, residents and officials said.

The epicentre was very close to that of the December 26 quake which triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across Asia.

The earthquake killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes in Gunungsitoli, the main town on Indonesia's Nias island, a local official told Metro TV.

"I can guarantee that dozens have died," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of the town of about 30,000 people, said by telephone.

"Gunungsitoli is now like a dead town. The situation here is in extreme panic."

The Associated Press reported that about 300 people had been killed on Nias Island, according to the local government.

The quake, which struck close to or after midnight across the region, spread terror in western Indonesia, Sri Lanka and coastal parts of India, Malaysia and Thailand, the areas devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami.

Sirens wailed and tens of thousands of panic-stricken people were evacuated after tsunami warnings while others drove or ran from coastlines to higher ground.

But there were no signs of a tsunami up to five hours after the 1609 GMT (4.09am NZT Tuesday) quake.

A senior police officer in Gunungsitoli told Reuters he had seen three dead bodies and that many others were trapped in damaged buildings.

"The earthquake was massive, it's still shaking now," said A. Nainggolan, the town's deputy police chief.

Another officer said up to three-fourths of the town was damaged.

Nias, off the western coast of Sumatra and about 1400 km northwest of Jakarta, is a remote and rugged island regarded as a surfing paradise for a fabled right hand break.

The Pacific tsunami warning centre said the quake had the potential to cause a "widely destructive tsunami" and authorities should take "immediate action," including evacuating coastlines within 1000 km of the epicentre.

One official said any possible tsunami could be headed toward the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

But the centre added: "Authorities can assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicentre within three hours of the earthquake. "

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said it had recorded two small waves in the Cocos Islands, the first only 10 cm but the second 25 cms. The Cocos Islands, south of Sumatra, recorded a 33 cm wave as a result of the Boxing Day tsunami.

Unlike in the immediate aftermath of the December quake, reactions were quick across nations on the rim of the Indian Ocean and tsunami warnings were issued across the region.

But well before dawn, Thailand and Sri Lanka cancelled the alerts and Indian officials said the chances of a killer wave hitting its coasts had receded.

Tens of thousands of people across northern and western Sumatra fled their homes, TV and residents said.

Thailand had earlier urged people living along parts of its west coast, including tourists on the resort island of Phuket, to evacuate while Malaysia issued a warning to coastal residents.

"About 3000 to 4000 tourists and locals have been evacuated from Patong and Kamala beaches to higher places," Phuket deputy governor Wichai Buapradit told Reuters.

Authorities in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, north of the epicentre, issued a preliminary tsunami warning as did the federal government in New Delhi. Sirens wailed in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Trincomalee and many coastal areas were evacuated, residents said.

The quake was felt as far away as Singapore and the Malaysian coastal city of Penang, jolting people out of their beds.

"It felt stronger than on December 26," said Arumugam Gopal, a resident of Penang.

A telephone operator in the Sumatran city of Medan said: "It was very strong. We all ran out of the building. "

An NGO official in Banda Aceh, the town worst hit by the December 26 tsunami, sent out a telephone message saying thousands of people fled their homes and headed for higher ground after feeling what he described as "a very damn big earthquake".

US Geological Survey spokesman Don Blakeman said Monday's quake was considered a "great earthquake" because it was larger than a magnitude 8. He said it was an aftershock from December's temblor but was a "very serious earthquake in its own right".

- REUTERS