Strong earthquake causes panic in Aceh

A powerful earthquake caused residents to flee buildings in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh, the region hardest hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami, witnesses said today.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and was centred 18 miles beneath the Indian Ocean and 50 miles south-west of the provincial capital Banda Aceh, the US Geological Survey said on its website.

Residents ran into the streets from their home and offices, witnesses said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The quake also triggered panic on nearby islands, said Priharyadi, a Meteorology and Geophysics Agency official, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

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.

In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people, including 160,000 people in Aceh alone.