Magnitude 7.9 Quake Hits Indonesia's Sumatra Island (Update4)

By Karima Anjani and Berni Moestafa

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck near the coast of Indonesia's Bengkulu province on Sumatra island, prompting countries bordering the Indian Ocean to issue tsunami alerts and evacuate some people from coastal regions.

The earthquake hit at 6:10 p.m. local time at a depth of 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake's magnitude was 8.2. The Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency lifted its tsunami warning after danger of damage from the waves passed.

The temblor was less powerful than a 9.1 magnitude quake off the coast of Sumatra in December 2004, which caused a tsunami that devastated coastal communities in countries across the Indian Ocean, killing more than 220,000 people. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said today's quake generated a tsunami that may ``have been destructive along some coasts.''

``There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage,'' Budi Darmawan, the head of the police in Muko Muko in Bengkulu said in an interview with El Shinta radio.

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago located on the so-called Pacific ``Ring of Fire,'' an arc of volcanoes and geologic fault lines surrounding the Pacific Basin. The archipelago lies in a zone where four tectonic plates meet. These plates constantly shift, sometimes causing earthquakes that can cause tsunamis.

Concern Over Aftershocks

Today's temblor was the world's biggest earthquake since an 8.1 magnitude quake struck off the Solomon Islands in May, producing a tsunami that killed 54 people, an 8 magnitude quake in Peru and a 8.1 magnitude temblor east of the Kuril islands.

The quake caused the walls of the Bunda Hotel in Bengkulu city to crack, Taura, a cleaner at the hotel, said by phone. ``There's panic,'' he said. ``People are setting up tents in front of their houses. There's concern about aftershocks.''

While there's a ``possibility'' of a tsunami on the northwest coast of Malaysia, no such waves have been detected, said Rosaidi Che Abas, director of seismology at the nation's Meteorological Services department. India and Japan also issued tsunami warnings.

Communication with areas closest to the earthquake's epicenter have been disrupted, Rustam S. Pakaya, head of crisis management at Indonesia's Health Ministry, said by telephone. ``It's very possible the quake caused damage,'' he said.

Evacuating People

Sri Lanka, the second-worst affected nation in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, ordered an evacuation of its eastern and southern beaches and said it may move people from the main tourist regions.

``It's bad news as a tsunami has been generated,'' Lalith Chandrapala said from the Sri Lanka Meteorological Department in the capital Colombo. ``We might have to extend the evacuation to the southwestern coastal areas.''

Neighboring India issued a tsunami warning for the Andaman & Nicobar Islands off the southeast coast and started evacuating people from the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.

Most of the more than 10,000 people who died in India during the 2004 natural disaster were located in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Tamil Nadu.

The risk of damage from waves traveling across the Indian Ocean is ``not serious,'' Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services Director Shailesh Nayak said in a phone interview from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.