Quake sparks tsunami alert

A strong 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island last night, sparking tsunami alerts and triggering panic.

The United States Geological Survey said the undersea quake struck at 9.08pm about 312km west-southwest of the North Sumatra capital, Medan, at a depth of 34km. Indonesia's meteorological agency, which put the magnitude of the quake at 6.6, said it struck 42km northwest of the town of Sinabang, the main town on Simeulue island, in Aceh province. A 5.5-magnitude aftershock hit shortly afterwards, it said.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a local watch bulletin, saying there was no threat of a "destructive widespread tsunami" but that a local one could affect coastal areas within a 100km radius. Japan's meteorological agency and Thailand's disaster warning centre also issued tsunami alerts.

The epicentre was in the same area as that of the quake that triggered the devastating December 2004 tsunami.

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