Tsunami warnings spark collective nightmare

Indian coastline residents gather away from the seafront following a tsunami alert in the southern Indian city of Chennai late Monday. India issued a tsunami alert along its entire south coast following a powerful quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. PHOTO: AFP

From the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to the shores of India and Sri Lanka, terrified people were jolted from their beds and homes as warnings rang out that another huge earthquake had struck and could spawn new killer waves.

Buildings on islands off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island buckled as the 8.7 magnitude undersea temblor struck shortly before 11:15 pm local time, crushing those in the rubble.

Nearest the epicentre, at least 430 people were confirmed dead on the outlying Indonesian island of Nias. Hundreds of houses had collapsed in the island's capital Gumung Sitoli, officials said.

A three metre (10-foot) wave smashed into the island of Simeulue, off the coast of Sumatra, causing extensive damage, a military official said yesterday.

The wharf in the island's main port was badly damaged and the waves also affected the island's airport in the coastal town of Sinabang, he said.

In Banda Aceh on Sumatra, one of the cities worst hit by the devastating December 26 tsunamis, there was mass panic.

On foot, in cars and on motorcycles, thousands of residents fled for high ground, ignoring officials' pleas for calm in their race for safety.

"When the earthquake happened, I rode my motorcycle to the airport because I was very afraid the tsunami would hit again," university student Heri told AFP.

Others tried to reach nearby hills as the screams of children echoed through streets that were temporarily plunged into darkness by a power outage.

Elsewhere around the Indian Ocean, radio and television sounded alerts. Police with loud hailers called on people to leave their homes. Mosques and temples issued warnings, while church bells rang out.

In Thailand, where more than 5,000 people died in the December 26 tsunamis, traffic started running bumper-to-bumper as people streamed out of the famed Patong beach on the tourist island of Phuket and thousands gathered on nearby hilltops.

"I was told by my boss that the tsunami might happen, so I and other people went up to the hills nearby. We stayed there for hours, but we started going back after we were told it was safe," Phuket resident Apichart Kongkheun told Thai television.

Hundreds of people, with children yanked from their beds and still wearing pyjamas, gathered at the Phuket town hall for hours during the night, sleeping on the lawn and in pickups. But they all started heading home once authorities declared it safe.