JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - "A massive earthquake on Sunday rocked Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh, causing dozens of buildings to collapse, news reports and a seismologist said.
Initial reports said the 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 07.59 local time (0059 GMT) about 160 kilometers below ground, said seismologist Fauzi at the Meteorogical and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta.
Fauzi, who goes by one name, wasn't sure of the location of the quake's epicenter.
However, the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site recorded a magnitude 8.1 earthquake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, 1,620 kilometers (1,000 miles) northwest of Jakarta.
It was centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) below the seabed, the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site reported.
State-run news agency Antara said several buildings in the Aceh provincial capital, Banda Aceh, were lightly damaged and that thousands of people fled their homes when the quake struck.
Indonesia, a country of 17,000 islands, is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the margins of tectonic plates that make up the so-called the "Ring of Fire'' around the Pacific Ocean basin.
The quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok." - AP
MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE! WOW
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Huge-quake-hits-Sumatras/2004/12/26/1103996423218.html?oneclick=true
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