Big Quake Hits Sumatra, Tsunami Warnings Issued

JAKARTA - A powerful earthquake measuring 8.2 struck Indonesia's Sumatra region on Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings in the Indian Ocean, sparking panic in coastal areas across Southeast Asia and causing at least two deaths.

Indonesia lifted its tsunami warning about 2-½ hours after the quake hit, but a second tremor later in the same area measuring 6.6 according to Indonesian authorities set off a fresh tsunami warning.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the later quake at 6.0 magnitude.

An official at Indonesia's meteorological agency had said gauges measured a wave surge of 1 metre after the first quake.
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Indonesian Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told Reuters one person had died after being hit by debris in Bengkulu, a town in south Sumatra close to the quake.

"The emergency rescue system has mobilised and the president has ordered the military to help the rescue effort," he added.

Rustam Pakaya at Indonesia's health ministry crisis centre said later two people had died and nine were seriously hurt.

Some buildings in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra had collapsed, witnesses reported, while Metro TV said some buildings had caught fire.

Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar said three people were trapped in a collapsed three-story office building.

A Reuters witness said residents of Padang fled for higher ground.

"The city is in complete chaos. Everyone is heading to higher ground, I saw one house collapsed to the ground. I'm trying to save my family," said the witness in Padang, the provincial capital of West Sumatra, north of the tremor's epicentre.

A huge earthquake struck the same area on Dec. 26, 2004, causing a massive tsunami and over 230,000 deaths in countries across the region.

Indonesia suffers frequent quakes, lying on an active seismic belt on part of the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire".

SECOND QUAKE

Indonesia's meteorological agency said via an sms alert the first quake's epicentre was 159 km (99 miles) southwest of Bengkulu, a remote area of mountains and forests.

A second tsunami warning was issued a few hours later after the 6.6 tremor struck 76 km (47 miles) northwest of Bengkulu.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an Indian Ocean tsunami warning after the first quake struck at 6:10 p.m. (1110 GMT). Authorities from Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Australia issued independent warnings, as did India for the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

By 1530 GMT, all the tsunami alerts from the first quake had been lifted with the exception of a warning issued for Western Australia.

Some residents of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand also felt the first quake and some buildings were evacuated.

Budi, a police chief in Bengkulu, said on Indonesia's Elshinta radio that he felt a strong quake.

"People panicked and tried to save themselves," he said.

He added he heard a report that a three-storey building had collapsed.

Suhardjono, an official at Indonesia's meteorological agency, said there had been higher waves in Padang after the first quake but they were not destructive.

Malaysian authorities had issued a tsunami warning for citizens to stay away from beaches.

Police on the resort island of Penang, hit in the 2004 tsunami, were mobilised to evacuate people from beach-side hotels and other dwellings.

Australia withdrew its warning for Christmas and Cocos Islands late on Wednesday, but the warning was still in place for Western Australia.