Tsunami alert after Indonesia quake

A tsunami warning has been issued after a powerful earthquake hit waters off western Indonesia.

The US Geological survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck 260 miles (420 kms) off Aceh province.

It was centred 18 miles (30 kms) beneath the ocean floor.

Arief Akhir, an official with Indonesia’s geological agency, said a tsunami warning has been issued.

A giant quake off the country on December 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Aceh.

Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Residents in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and other cities along the coast poured into the streets after being rattled from their sleep.

But one police spokesman, Gustav Leo, said there did not appear to be any serious damage.

More than an hour after the quake, there were no signs of seismically triggered waves.

Nearly two hours after the quake struck, the local geological agency lifted its tsunami warning.