A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.9 rattled Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Saturday, and residents fled their homes for higher ground fearing a possible tsunami, an official said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysical Agency in Jakarta said the epicentre was about 50 kms (30 miles) northwest of the West Sumatra city of Padang. The quake also was felt in Nias island, which was hit by an 8.7 magnitude quake on March 28 that killed hundreds of residents. Saturday’s quake epicentre was southeast of Nias.
"There is no tsunami due to the quake because it was a deep one under the sea," said seismologist Rinto Madjiono at the quake centre in Jakarta. But the shake was felt quite strong in Padang and Nias although there is no report of damage. Its impact was a lot smaller than the one in Nias (in March)," he told Reuters.
