Quake hits Indonesia, tsunami warning lifted

JAKARTA - A strong quake struck off the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island late Monday but there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, prompted a tsunami warning, but the alert was lifted an hour later.

The quake hit the Mentawai islands, off the western coast of West Sumatra province, at about 9.42 p.m. (1442 GMT), the Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency said.

Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, said his office had not been able to contact Mentawai islands.

“We hope there’s no serious damage but there’s possibility of damage there,” Kardono said.

The meteorology agency said the epicentre of Monday’s quake was 78 km southwest of Pagai Selatan of Mentawai, and occurred at a depth of 10 km.

The quake was felt strongly in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, but there did not appear to be any damage, he said.

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Padang and neighbouring districts in September last year, killing more than 1,100 people.

The state Antara news agency said residents in Padang fled their homes in panic.