Strong quake hits Indonesia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit
Simeulue, Indonesia on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey
said, and an official in the region said there were no reports
of a tsunami.

“A strong earthquake occurred at (1410 GMT) on Saturday,
November 19,” the USGS said on its Web site. “The magnitude 6.5
event has been located in Simeulue, Indonesia,” an island off
Sumatra about 900 miles northwest of Jakarta.

An official at Jakarta’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency
said the quake measured 6.2 magnitude and was centered in the
ocean near Simeulue. Asked if it could generate a tsunami, he
said: “I don’t think so. It’s already been more than one hour
and there have been no reports of a tsunami.”

He said, however, the quake was felt by residents on
mainland Sumatra island to the west.

On December 26 of last year a 9.15 magnitude quake off the
Indonesian coast triggered a tsunami that killed as many as
232,000 people in the Indian Ocean region. The region has been
hit by many aftershocks and tremors since the quake.

Earlier this week Indonesia installed two buoys and a
pressure sensor on the ocean bottom off of Sumatra as part of a
tsunami early warning system to prevent a repeat of last year’s
tragedy.