A 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s western island of Sumatra, the US Geological Survey said. The country has issued a tsunami warning, the National Meteorolgical Agency reported.
The shallow quake, which hit southwest of the island of Sumatra on Wednesday (2nd March), had a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles). The epicenter was located 808 kilometres (502 miles) southwest of Padang.
Indonesia straddles the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active zone where neighbouring tectonic plates violently clash, resulting in a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Sources: AFP, CNA, RT, ninemsn, The Star Online, The Guardian / Featured image from RT.
