Moderate Eartquake Jolts Aceh

Banda Aceh, Aceh Darussalam (Antara) - An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted Aceh Darussalam Province early Monday morning but it did not have potential to trigger a tsunami. Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that the epicenter of the earthquake was located between 3.95 degrees northern latitude and 95.81 degrees eastern longitude, or 65 kilometers southwest of North Aceh district and 191 kilometers southeast of Banda Aceh. But so far there was no report about casualty or material damage from the earthquake. Nonong, a resident of Banda Aceh said the magnitude of the quake they felt was not strong enough but they were still traumatized by previous stronger tremors. "It was not very strong but we are still traumatized by a powerful earthquake that hit the province in 2004," Nonong said. On December 26, 2004, a powerful earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale with its ensuing massive tsunami devastated the province of Aceh, claiming more than 200 thousand lives. (*)