Earthquake rocks western Indonesia, no immediate reports of damage

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) A moderate earthquake rattled Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged Aceh province early yesterday, panicking residents but causing no known damage or injuries, meteorologists and witnesses said.

The 5.6-magnitude quake struck deep beneath the sea near Indonesia's Sumatra island at 10:43 a.m. (0343 GMT).

"Some people were frightened, but there are no reports of damage or injuries," said Syahan, the chief of the meteorological agency in Aceh's provincial capital. "It seems people here are getting used to tremors like this." Syahan, like many Indonesians, goes by a single name.

The quake was centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) beneath the Indian Ocean and stuck 95 kilometers (55 miles) south of Banda Aceh, said U.S. Geological Survey.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a tsunami killing more than 131,000 people in Aceh alone and leaving tens of thousands more missing.