Telecommunication was cut at the hardest-hit area of Sinabang town in Siemelu island of Aceh province after a powerful earthquake hit the area, Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency and the National Disaster Management Agency said in Jakarta Wednesday.
The Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said in a report that the quake was measured 6.6 on the Richter scale and struck at 15:08 Jakarta time (0808 GMT) with epicenter at 42 kilometers northwest Sinabang town in Siemelu Island of the province and 30 kilometers beneath the earth.
But the Hong Kong Observatory said the quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale occurred west of Northern Sumatra at 16:14 (0814GMT).
There is no local tsunami warning issued, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a bulletin saying parts of the Sumatran coast closest to the epicenter were at risk of a possible tsunami.
Thailand's disaster warning center on Wednesday also issued a tsunami alert for the resort of island of Phuket and five nearby provinces after the quake.
The Siemelu island is closest with the center of the quake, according to the meteorology agency.
There was no damages or casualty in other places here the quake intensity was felt, such as in Meulaboh where the intensity was 6 MMI (modified mercalli intensity), an official of the agency DianaRahayu told Xinhua.
So far contact still could not be done to the Island, she said.
"We have tried to contact with our branch office in the island, but fail," Rahayu told Xinhua.
The intensity on the island had not been known, but its position closest to the epicenter, led to a prediction that the intensity was the highest there.
Source: Xinhua
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