JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 5.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia’s western Aceh province early Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The shallow quake struck shortly before 1 AM local time with its epicenter 20 kilometers northwest of the city of Langsa.
No tsunami warning has been issued.
Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide and many of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
In 2004 a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.
A series of quakes and aftershocks on the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok through July and August killed about 500 people and forced hundreds of thousands into evacuation shelters or tents.
© Agence France-Presse
