Tsunami panic as strong quake hits Indonesia

A strong earthquake jolted eastern Indonesia, killing a woman, damaging dozens of buildings and sending panicked residents fleeing to higher ground shouting: “tsunami!”.

The 6.3-magnitude quake that struck at 10.01pm local time (2.01pm Irish Time) yesterday was centred 15 miles north of Raba, a town on Sumbawa island, and did not trigger a seismic wave, the US Geological Survey and local meteorological officials said.

The tremor rattled several towns and cities and could also be felt in nearby East Nusatenggara province, said Hazairin, a municipal official on Sumbawa who goes by only one name.

The body of 62-year-old Siti Syiah was found under a fallen cabinet in her home today, he said, and dozens of schools, houses and other buildings were destroyed.

Hundreds of people ran from their homes in the coastal town of Rasanae, shouting “Beware, tsunami! Beware, tsunami!”

Many slept in the hills overnight, coming down only after authorities convinced them the quake was beneath land and did not trigger a wave, Hazairin said.

Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

A magnitude-nine earthquake off Sumatra island triggered the 2004 tsunami that killed more than 131,000 people in Aceh province alone and left half a million others homeless. A total of more than 216,000 people were killed in 12 countries.