THOMAS FULLER Two powerful earthquakes struck about two hours apart off the coast of Sumatra on Wednesday,spreading panic among residents of the Indonesian island and reviving memories of the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the same area. There were no reports of casualties or significant damage,and the tsunami warnings that were widely broadcast on television,cellphones and the Internet were called off again a few hours later. The first quake,whose magnitude was measured at 8.6 by the United States Geological Survey,was centered about 200 miles offshore and was felt across a large area. The second quake,measured at 8.2,was somewhat further offshore. Indonesias President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in Jakarta that the earthquake had caused a little bit of panic. Though the quakes did not ultimately cause a tsunami,they tested the regions tsunami warning systems,as residents fled coastal areas for higher ground. In Banda Aceh,at the northern end of Sumatra,the hurried,spontaneous evacuation came after several minutes of heavy shaking. The earthquake knocked out electricity and tied up cellphone service,according to Edo Iskandar,a 56-year-old driver who said he was drinking coffee at an outdoor restaurant when the earthquake struck in the midafternoon. People started running out into the street, he said. All the people at the food stall,people from shops,houses,everybody was in the street panicking,running and looking for higher ground. Television footage showed patients wheeled from hospitals on gurneys and traffic-clogged streets in one direction away from the sea. The tsunami siren sounded,Iskandar said. Wednesdays earthquakes were further away from Sumatra than the 2004 quake,and seismologists said the horizontal motion of the strongest quake made it less likely to set off a large tsunami. The quake two hours later was the strongest of many aftershocks. 10 strongest quakes since 1900 May 22,1960,Chile Magnitude 9.5 5,000 people killed. March 28,1964,Alaska magnitude 9.2 The quake and tsunami killed 125 people. Dec 26,2004,Indonesia magnitude 9.1 Quake struck off the coast of Aceh province,setting off a tsunami that killed more than 2,26,000 people. Nov 4,1952,Russia Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake generated a tsunami that reached the Hawaiian islands. No lives were lost. March 11,2011,Japan Magnitude 9.0 Quake and tsunami killed over 15,000 people. Feb 27,2010,Chile Magnitude 8.8 Quake and tsunami killed more than 500 people. Jan 31,1906,Ecuador Magnitude 8.8 Quake and tsunami killed up to 1,000. Feb 4,1965,Alaska Magnitude 8.7 Quake and tsunami on Shemya Island. No deaths. April 11,2012,Indonesia Magnitude 8.6 Quake off Aceh province. No deaths reported. March 28,2005,Indonesia Magnitude 8.6 Quake off Sumatra killed 1,300 people. Reuters
