Strong quake off Aceh generates tsunami alert

JAKARTA [ACTED News] - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck about 200 miles off the west coast of Sumatra in the early morning hours of Wednesday followed by several small aftershocks. According to newspaper reports, residents in nearby Banda Aceh reported at least 30 seconds of violent shaking and the Indonesian government briefly issued a tsunami warning for the Sumatran coast, but no tsunami materialized. This is the largest quake to hit Indonesia since the 9.1 quake of 2004 that triggered a deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean. ACTED currently works to promote child protection in Nias, one of Sumatra’s western islands lying along the fault line that is highly prone to large-scale quakes such as these; ACTED staff in Gunungsitoli reported no damage as of this morning.