Indonesia's Sumatra Island was rocked by three new tremblors on Thursday, a day after a powerful earthquake and an aftershock off its western coast killed at least nine people and wounded dozens more, according to DPA. Two morning and one late night tremblor stuck the Sumatra region, as well as an earthquake in eastern Indonesian on Thursday evening. All four forced geophysics officials to issue tsunami warnings that were eventually called off when no giant waves appeared. Geologists warned residents across the coastal areas of West Sumatra to remain alert as more strong aftershocks that could produce tsunamis were predicted for the next two weeks. Thursday's new aftershocks, which panicked residents already reeling from death and destruction along the coast of West Sumatra, came after an 8.4 quake on Wednesday evening left at least nine people dead and dozens injured, officials said. Thursday's first quake caused extensive damage in the city of Padang on the western coast of Sumatra, where hundreds of buildings collapsed or were damaged in the city centre. "Many buildings collapsed after this morning's quake," Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar told the Jakarta-based Elshinta radio. "We're still trying to find out about victims." The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta twice issued tsunami warnings Thursday morning after two aftershocks hit at 6:49 am (2349 GMT Wednesday) and 8:26 am (0126 GMT) as rescue workers were speeding to affected areas to assess the destruction from Wednesday night. Both tsunami warnings were lifted after no waves materialized following the aftershocks - the first measuring 7.8 and the second 6.7 on the Richter scale, officials said. The first quake was felt as far away as Singapore, where it reportedly caused tall buildings to sway. On Thursday night a tremblor registering between 6.8 and 7.1 struck some 165 kilometres south-west of Padang, forcing yet another tsunami warning. It was cancelled after midnight and no injuries or significant damage were reported. Separately, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck Thursday evening in eastern Indonesia's remote Talaud islands, forcing officials to issue a tsunami warning there that was later cancelled. There were no reports of injuries. The tremblors, repeated tsunami warnings and public panic were largely related to December 26, 2004, when a 9.0-magnitude- earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14 Indian Ocean countries, claiming 177,000 people alone in Indonesia's Aceh province, which lies on the northern tip of Sumatra.
