Current News :Earthquekes

By Ahmad Pathoni

PADANG BAKUNG, Indonesia (Reuters) - Frightened residents on Indonesia's Sumatra island huddled in tents outside their damaged homes on Friday, traumatized by the latest of more than 40 aftershocks since a huge earthquake struck two days ago.

Indonesia's meteorology agency issued on Friday the latest in a series of tsunami warnings after another strong quake in Sumatra, although it was lifted about an hour later.

There have been a series of tremors ranging in intensity from 4.9 to 7.8 since Wednesday's 8.4 quake, repeatedly setting off tsunami warnings in Indian Ocean countries.

There have, however, been no reports of the sort of widespread tsunami that caused the death and devastation of the huge waves in 2004, which followed a quake of over 9 magnitude.

Seismologist Mike Turnbull of Australia's Central Queensland University warned against complacency over the frequent tsunami warnings.

"The problem is, these were very large earthquakes. They had every capability to generate large tsunami."

At least two areas in Bengkulu province were hit by tsunamis after Wednesday's quake, residents told Reuters correspondents.

About 100 houses were damaged by a 3 meter (10 ft) wave in Serangai, 70 km north of Bengkulu city, but there were no casualties.

"Suddenly, I heard the rushing sound of water coming, it looked black. So I told everybody to run," said Johan, a 60-year-old farmer, who like many Indonesians uses one name. He said most people had already fled to higher ground after the quake.

Some houses had been shifted about 10 meters by the water and tree trunks and large logs littered the main road.

Padang Bakung, a village two hours drive south of Bengkulu, also suffered a tsunami that inundated houses with water as high as half a meter. The houses were 60 meters from the coast.