[Kabar-indonesia] 6.1 Quake Hits Offshore Indonesia's Sumatra; No Tsunami Alert

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

Earthquake hits offshore Indonesia's Sumatra

JAKARTA, July 27 (Reuters) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 
hit offshore the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Indonesian Meteorology
and Geophysics Agency said on Thursday.

The United States Geological Survey put the quake, which occurred at
1116 GMT, at a magnitude of 6.0.

Senior Indonesian seismologist Fauzi told Jakarta-based Radio Elshinta
the earthquake appeared too small to trigger a tsunami.

"We don't need to be concerned about the possibility of a tsunami. The
scale was too low for a tsunami. It could be felt though, so we hope
there won't be any damage," Fauzi said.

A seismologist at the agency's branch in North Sumatra province told
Reuters that no damage had been reported from the closest areas to the
epicentre.

"It happened near Nias island but we have not received reports of any
damage from there. It has been an hour so I think there has been no
indication of a coming tsunami," said Buha Simanjuntak.

A government official on Nias also said there was no indication of
damage or casualties, but people fled homes and buildings after
feeling the tremor.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, gave no
immediate warning of a tsunami. The quake's magnitude was under its
threshold of 6.5 for a specific tsunami warning.

In March 2005, a powerful earthquake devastated Nias island, off the
west coast of northern Sumatra, killing hundreds of people and leaving
tens of thousands homeless.

Earthquakes are frequent in Indonesia, the world's fourth most
populous country. Its 17,000 islands sprawl along a belt of intense
volcanic and seismic activity, part of what is called the "Pacific
Ring of Fire".

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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