Quote:
It struck just before midnight local time, with an estimated magnitude of 8.2, and caused widespread panic. But three hours after the tremor, officials across the region said fears of another major tsunami were receding.
There were unconfirmed reports of dozens killed by the tremor on the Indonesian island of Nias.
The quake struck between the Sumatran cities of Padang and Medan at around 2315 local time (1615 GMT) and lasted up to three minutes, according to Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Office.
Its epicentre was located at about 200km (125 miles) off the Sumatran mainland. Most people were in bed at the time and there were no immediate reports of damage, says the BBC's Tim Johnstone in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Reports from Banda Aceh say thousands came out into the streets, fearful of collapsing houses, while an official quoted by Reuters news agency spoke of "dozens" killed on the island of Nias
.
Communications were swamped, although some mobile phone messages were getting through.
|
Although many lives have again been lost, it appears that they have been luckier than last time and as steep has said the risk of a second Tsunami is receding.