May 19, 2005
Turkish Press
JAKARTA - An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale shook parts of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or property damage, a meteorologist said.
The offshore quake hit at 8:54 am (0154 GMT), with the epicenter 240 kilometers (155 miles) west of the town of Sibolga in North Sumatra, at a depth of 33 kilometres, said Syahnan, chief meteorologist in Aceh province in northern Sumatra.
Residents of Aceh's provincial capital, Banda Aceh, ran out of their homes and offices in panic, fearful of more tremors on the scale of the December 26 earthquake and tsunami that left at least 128,000 dead in the province.
On March 28, an 8.7-magnitude earthquake killed more than 900 people on the island of Nias off Sumatra. It was centred on the same Indian Ocean geological fault line as Thursday's quake.
Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
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