JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A powerful underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia Wednesday, triggering a tsunami alert for countries along the Indian Ocean and sending panicked residents out of their houses.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.9. An Indonesian television network reported that buildings had collapsed in the coastal city of Padang, in Southern Sumatra province. Indonesia's meteorological agency said the quake had a preliminary magnitude at 7.6 and hit 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the coast of Padang, along the same fault line the spawned the massive 2004 Asian tsunami. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami alert for Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Thailand. "There is a possibility of a destructive regional tsunami in the Indian Ocean," it said in an e-mailed statement. There were no immediate reports of a high waves. Witnesses said residents of Padang, and other town and cities, ran out of homes and buildings in fear. "People are panicking. They are running out of the buildings... There are many collapsed buildings," an unidentified witness in Padang told MetroTV.