Life returned to normal in Indonesia’s Aceh province today after a powerful earthquake off Sumatra island yesterday triggered a tsunami warning, sending residents fleeing to safety, reports dpa.

Electricity, knocked out after the magnitude-8.6 quake yesterday, was restored and government offices were opened.

NONEThere were no immediate reports of fatalities as a result of the quake. A prison in Aceh Besar district suffered serious damaged.

Several aftershocks forced fearful residents to stay outside last night.

In Jakarta, the National Disaster Management Agency said it was dispatching three teams to quake-affected areas to assess the damage.

“According to preliminary reports four people were lightly injured and one bridge collapsed,” agency spokesperson Sutopo Nugroho said.

NONEThe quake triggered tsunami warnings for countries ranging from Indonesia to Thailand, India, Australia, the Seychelles, Somalia, Oman and South Africa.

The warnings were lifted hours later.

Meanwhile, Bernama reports that a moderate earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale occurred at 6.52am today in the North Indian Ocean.

The Malaysia Meteorological Department, in a statement in Kuala Lumpur, said the epicentre is located in North Indian Ocean, 675km south-west of Great Nicobar, India and 1,192 km to the south-west of Kampar, Perak.

No tsunami threat was detected, the statement added.

Later today, Bernama reported that Aceh was stuck by a 5.3 magnitude tectonic quake.

The quake hit 442km off southwest of Sabang at the depth of 124km at 7.29am.

Meteorological Geophysics, Climatology and Geophysics Agency geophysics chief (Kepahaing, Bengkulu station) Dadang Permana said 25 aftershocks with a magnitude of over five on the Richter scale occurred after a powerful quake yesterday afternoon.

The strongest aftershock with a magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale, which had the potential of causing tsunami, occurred on at 5.45pm yesterday, two hours after the first quake.

The quake, which rattled Simeulue, could trigger aftershocks and residents along the coastal areas in the Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Bengkulu and Lampung have been asked to be ready for any eventualities.

- Agencies