By DPA
Jakarta : Indonesian authorities lifted the double tsunami warnings that were issued after two strong aftershocks rocked the Sumatran island early Thursday, adding fresh fears among thousands of residents who stayed outdoors following the initial powerful temblor the night before.
Officials at Jakarta’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said another 6.7-magnitude aftershock rattled Sumatra shortly before 9 a.m. (02.00 GMT) Thursday, after an earlier 7.8-magnitude aftershock struck at 6:49 a.m. (23.49 GMT Wednesday).
Both aftershocks triggered government authorities to issue tsunami warnings, but they were lifted after no waves materialised, officials said.
The USGS said the first new aftershock on Thursday was centred about 200 km from Bengkulu, a city on Sumatra island. It occurred at a shallow depth of about 10 km.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii warned Thursday’s aftershock had the potential to generate a destructive regional tsunami along coasts within 960 km of the epicentre. It advised authorities to take immediate action to evacuate coastal areas.
Thursday’s aftershock caused extensive damage in Padang, a local official said.
“Many buildings collapsed after this morning’s quake,” Fauzi Bahar, the mayor, told El Shinta radio. “We’re still trying to find out about victims.”
On Wednesday, a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake shook South-East Asia, collapsing buildings, killing at least five people and injuring dozens in Indonesia. That tremor triggered a small non-destructive tsunami off the coastal city of Padang on Sumatra, the Indonesian island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami disaster.
A tsunami warning was issued for wide areas of the region and nations as far away as Sri Lanka and India.
Officials said at least three people were killed in the Bengkulu provincial capital from Wednesday’s powerful quake, while more than a dozen were injured.