A series of strong earthquakes rattled the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Tuesday, destroying dozens of homes, DPA quoted officials as saying. The latest quake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, struck the western coast of Sumatra at 4:02 am (2102 GMT Monday), with its epicentre 171 kilometres south-west of Painan, West Sumatra, and 27 kilometres beneath the seabed. A 6.3-magnitude quake hit the region three hours earlier. Brief tsunami warnings were issued following the quakes, but were lifted soon after when no tidal waves materialized. The warnings caused thousands of frightened residents to run out of their homes. An official at West Sumatra's disaster management centre said at least 20 homes and a school building in the Mentawai islands, the area closest to the epicentre off the western coast of Sumatra, were collapsed following the quakes. One person was reportedly injured. The quake also caused panic among residents of various towns in West Sumatra and Bengkulu provinces, Elshinta radio reported. On Monday afternoon, a quake registering 7.2 on the Richter scale jolted the western coast of Sumatra, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning, and late Sunday a 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit Bengkulu and West Sumatra.
