Earthquake shakes western Indonesia, triggers tsunami

By The Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake shook Indonesia on Wednesday, killing seven people, injuring 100 and triggering a small tsunami that hit one city on the island of Sumatra, authorities said. Tsunami warnings were issued for much of the Indian Ocean region.

The 8.2-magnitude quake off Sumatra badly damaged buildings along the coast and could be felt in at least four countries, with tall buildings swaying as far as 1,200 miles away.

It was followed by a series of aftershocks, the strongest of which registered at a magnitude of 6.6 and triggered a second tsunami alert for Indonesia, the meteorological agency reported.

At least seven people were killed in three Sumatran towns, Social Affairs Department official Felix Valentino told the news portal detik.com CQ. Phone lines and electricity also were cut. Most of the damage appeared to be from the quake.

A wave of up to 9 feet was reported to have struck the city of Padang about 20 minutes after the initial quake, said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia’s meteorological agency, who goes by only one name.

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