A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Indonesia's West Sumatra island, killing at least two people and shaking buildings as far away as Thailand.
Scientists originally measured the quake at a magnitude of seven-point-nine, but later upgraded it to eight-point-four. Officials at the U.S. Geological Survey say today's quake struck off the southern coast of West Sumatra at about 6:10 p.m. local time (1110 UTC).
Indonesian officials say at least two people were killed during the quake and at least 11 others injured. The overall extent of the damage is still not clear, but there have been various reports of toppled buildings in parts of West Sumatra.
Officials say the quake toppled at least one building in Bengkulu, a town near the epicenter.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said the quake could generate a large tsunami wave, triggering warnings throughout the region. Most of those tsunami warnings, including two from Indonesia, were later lifted.
In December 2004, a massive undersea earthquake and tsunami killed more than 160-thousand people in Indonesia's westernmost Aceh province. Many thousands more were killed in other Indian Ocean nations.
Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago. It is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
