The quake struck about
434 kilometers (270 miles) southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of
Indonesia's Aceh province, and had a magnitude of 8.6, the U.S.
Geological Survey said. It took place at a depth of 23 kilometers (14
miles).
A second quake, magnitude 8.2, occurred off the west coast of Sumatra about two hours later, the USGS said.
Gary Gibson from the
Seismology Research Center in Melbourne, Australia, said the location of
the second quake reduces the possibility of a tsunami.
There were no immediate reports of destruction or deaths Wednesday.
Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on local television that there were no
reports of casualties or damage in Aceh.
The Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center issued a tsunami watch for the entire Indian Ocean, and
the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said it
had put up a tsunami warning as well.
Sea level readings
indicate a tsunami was generated, the warning center said. "It may
already have been destructive along some coasts."
The center also said
that "when no major waves have occurred for at least two hours after the
estimated arrival time or damaging waves have not occurred for at least
two hours, then local authorities can assume the threat is passed." The
center posted approximate arrival times for waves in different parts of
the region, which were predicted for different times in different
cities throughout the day.
Waves were reported at
1-meter (3.3-foot) amplitude offshore in Meulaboh, I
ndonesia, but in
other cities they were reported at about a foot or less, according to
the warning center.
British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Britain "stands ready to help if required."
The first quake took place at 2:38 p.m. local time (4:38 a.m. ET).
Officials called on coastal residents in low-lying areas in the region to seek higher ground.
The power went out in
Banda Aceh and residents were moving to higher ground, said Sutopo Purwo
Nugroho, a spokesman for the Indonesian National Disaster Management
Agency.
The areas most at risk
of a tsunami are coastal areas of Aceh, particularly the island of
Simeulue, Prih Harjadi, an official for the Indonesian geophysics agency
said on Metro TV.
The earthquake appears
to have involved a horizontal movement rather than a vertical movement,
so it is less likely that it will generate a tsunami, Gibson said.
He also said that the tremor took place a long way offshore and was therefore unlikely to have caused much damage itself.
In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude
underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami
that killed more than 200,000 people in 14 countries. The majority of
the deaths were in Indonesia, with Aceh bearing the brunt.
That quake took place 250 kilometers (155 miles) south-southeast of Banda Aceh at a depth of 30 kilometers (19 miles).
The tsunami, which
washed away entire communities, caused nearly $10 billion in damage and
more casualties than any other tsunami in history, according to the
United Nations.
Since then, officials have worked to improve warning systems and have carried out drills in the region.
Indonesia is on the
so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin
that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The earthquake Wednesday
comes just over year after a magnitude 9 quake off the northeast coast
of Japan caused a devastating tsunami. The death toll from that disaster
stands at about 15,850.
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