Sep. 12, 2007 — A powerful earthquake shook Indonesia on Wednesday, killing 10 people, injuring scores and triggering a small tsunami that hit one city on the island of Sumatra, authorities said.
The 8.4-magnitude quake off Sumatra damaged homes, mosques and shopping malls 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, which was lifted about an hour later, said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia's meteorological agency, who goes by only one name.
At least seven people were killed in three Sumatran towns, Social Affairs Department official Felix Valentino told the news Web site detik.com. In the city of Padang, three bodies were pulled from badly damaged buildings, a witness, Alfin, said by phone.
Most of the damage appeared to be from the quake.
A tsunami about 3 feet high was reported to have struck Padang about 20 minutes after the initial quake, Suhardjono said, adding that severed phone lines made it hard to get details. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported that a small tsunami hit Padang.
At least one person was killed and dozens injured in Bengkulu, the town closest to the epicenter, local government official Salamun Harius told El Shinta radio. At least 100 others were hospitalized, senior Health Ministry official Rustam Pakaya said.
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Residents in Bengkulu, where at least one building was demolished, said the quake triggered panic and that people ran inland.
"Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction," said Wati Said, who spoke by cell phone standing outside her house. "We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here."
