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JAKARTA: A moderate 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island early Friday but there was no major threat of a tsunami, geologists said.
The epicentre of the tremor, which was 35 kilometres deep and struck at 12.44 am (1744 GMT), was 237 kilometres southeast of the island's capital Padang city, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a warning and there were no immediate reports of damage.
But the warning centre did say: "However, there is a very small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a hundred kilometres from the earthquake epicentre."
The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in the country's Aceh province. - AFP/de
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