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Indonesia hit by powerful earthquake

No immediate reports of damage or injuries

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updated 2:56 p.m. ET
Nov. 16, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful
earthquake struck waters off eastern Indonesia early Monday, briefly generating
tsunami warnings for coastlines within 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) of the
epicenter.

Thousands of people in nearby
coastal towns fled homes, hotels and hospitals in panic, but there were no
immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the
quake's magnitude at 7.5 and said it struck 54 miles (135 kilometers) from the
nearest city, Gorantalo, located on Sulawesi island. It was centered 13 miles
(21 kilometers) beneath the sea and was followed by two strong aftershocks.

Story continues
below ↓

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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
said the temblor had the potential to generate a destructive tsunami along
coasts within 600 miles (1,000 kilometers).

Residents refusing to
return home
But even after local officials lifted the tsunami
alert, frightened Sulawesi residents were refusing to return to their homes.

Gusnar, the deputy governor of
Gorantalo province, told el-Shinta radio he had been in touch with district
chiefs and there were "no reports of serious injuries or significant damage."
Like many Indonesians, he goes by only one name.

Robert Bano, a Gorantalo resident,
said the massive quake shook homes for more than two minutes and sent many
people fleeing their homes, some, like him, with crying children.

Some guests streaming from
Paradiso Hotel were so afraid they fainted, the official news agency Antara
reported.

A witness in the city of Poso said
patients from at least one hospital were evacuated.

Indonesia is prone to seismic
upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of
volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive
earthquake off Indonesia's Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that battered much
of the Indian Ocean coastline and killed more than 230,000 people — 131,000 of
them in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.

A tsunami off Java island last
year killed nearly 5,000.

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Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.

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