5.9 magnitude quake hits western Indonesia, no tsunami alert issued

A shallow undersea quake of 5.9 magnitude on the Richter scale jolted Aceh province in western Indonesia on Tuesday, but there was no potential for tsunami, China's Xinhua news agency reported the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics as saying.

The quake struck the province in the northern tip of Sumatra Island at 9.51 am Jakarta time with the epicenter at 353 km northwest Sabang town and the depth at 10 km under sea bed, an official of the agency told Xinhua by phone.

"We did not issue tsunami warning for this quake," the official said.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire." -- BERNAMA