A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the Indonesian province of Aceh on 9 May, seismologists said, triggering a local tsunami alert. The earthquake quake struck at 1259 (0559 GMT) 66 km (41 miles) southwest of Meulaboh on the Aceh coast, according to the local Meteorological and Geophysics Agency, in an area devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the earthquake quake at 7.4. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties or damage.
Reminds Memory of Tsunami
The people of Aceh are still traumatised by memories of 26 December 2004, when the Indian Ocean surged over the northern tip of Sumatra after a 9.3-magnitude quake split the seabed to the island's west.
Indonesia was the nation hardest hit, with at least 168,000 people killed out of more than 220,000 who lost their lives across the region.
High Volcanic and Seismic Activity
Indonesia sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity. The 9 May quake off Meulaboh, which lies on the northwestern tip of the island of Sumatra, struck at a depth of 30 km (18 miles).
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