JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - A major 7.8-magnitude quake hit Indonesia’s northern Sumatra early Wednesday, US seismologists said, triggering a tsunami alert in nearby Thailand but no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake struck at a depth of 46 kilometres (29 miles), just off northern Sumatra, at 5:15 am (2215 GMT Tuesday), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Thailand warned people in coastal areas to evacuate to a safe place. The National Disaster Warning Centre there said there was a high risk of a tsunami on the Andaman Coast, which was battered by an Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 that killed an estimated 5,400 people in Thailand alone.
Since then, Thailand has installed a high-tech warning system designed to reassure tourists and businesses that the country’s beaches are safe. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a watch for local tsunamis in Sumatra, saying sea levels indicated a tsunami was generated, but it said a widespread destructive tsunami was not expected. Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
A massive tsunami hit Indonesia and other countries in the Indian Ocean rim in 2004, killing about 220,000 people, most of them in Aceh province in northern Sumatra. A 7.6-magnitude quake in West Sumatra province in September last year killed about 1,000 people, according to official figures.
http://lipsus.kompas.com/topikpilihan/read/2010/04/07/0652558/Major.Quake.Hits.Indonesia..Thailand.Raises.Tsunami.Alert
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