Locals are evacuated out of buildings after an 8.5 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks jolted northern Sumatra, in Medan, capital city of North Sumatra, Indonesia, on April 11, 2012. Several people suffered bruises from falling materials on their heads when a major earthquake and aftershocks jolted northern Sumatra on Wednesday afternoon, a local TV reported. People living in Bengkulu, West Sumatra and Aceh were told to get ready for evacuation after the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics agency (BMKG) issued tsunami warning following the 8.5 magnitude earthquake. (Xinhua/Fauzi Ilham)
JAKARTA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Five people have been dead, four others injured, and one bridge collapsed in Aceh province after the Wednesday's quake rocked the province in northern tip of Sumatra island and its surrounding areas, officials said on Thursday.
"Five people were killed,.. including one in Banda Aceh, three in Aceh Besar and one in Lhoksemawe," Wahyudi, an official of disaster management and mitigation agency in Aceh province, told Xinhua by phone.
He said that the quake damaged a wall at the prison in the proivincial capital of Banda Aceh, but no reports of prisoners escaping the building.
One bridge in West Aceh was collapsed and four people suffered from injuries in Simeuleu islands of Aceh, an official at the headquarters of the agency in Jakarta told Xinhua over phone.
Emergency relief aids have been prepared and ready for distribution as the officials of the agency have been deployed to three provinces, Aceh, West Sumatra and North Sumatra which hit hardest by the quake, for further assessment of the impact of the natural disaster, according to the official.
Some of areas in the province suffered from the quake shakes with MMI (modified mercally intensity) of 4 to 5, meaning that it is capable to collapse buildings, an official of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency told Xinhua.
Local television reported five warships had been prepared for distribution of the aids when needed.
Shallow powerful undersea quake of 8.5 magnitude struck off Aceh on Wednesday and followed by strong aftershocks and dozens moderate tremors.
BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Tsunami alerts in Indonesia and other countries around the Indian Ocean have been lifted, after no significant waves were reported following the strong 8.6-magnitude earthquake and 8.2-magnitude aftershock which struck Indonesia's Aceh coast. So far there are no reports of deaths or injuries. Full Story
