At least 500 buildings collapsed, 400 dead in Indonesia quake

A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island on Thursday, southeast of the site of an earlier powerful quake that left more than 1,000 feared dead, geologists said.

At least 529 people have died in a huge earthquake that struck Indonesia's Sumatra island, a social affairs ministry official said Thursday, adding that some affected areas remain cut off.

"So far, 529 people have died from the West Sumatra earthquake from six affected districts," Tugyo Bisri, an official from the ministry's disaster team, said.

"There are areas within the districts we have not been able to reach at all."

A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island on Thursday, southeast of the site of an earlier powerful quake that left more than 1,000 feared dead, geologists said.

The quake hit on land at 8:52 am (0152 GMT), 225 kilometres (140 miles) southeast of the quake-hit city of Padang. The United States Geological Survey put the quake at 6.8-magnitude.

"There are several heavily populated towns (in the area) there but no immediate reports of casualties," Indonesian geophysics and meteorology agency technical head Suharjono told AFP.

"The latest quake could have been triggered by the West Sumatra quake yesterday. The pressure from the two plates colliding might have caused the rear of either plates to break and this likely triggered the latest quake," Suharjono added.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a "very small possibility" of a destructive local tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

A major 7.6-magnitude quake struck off Padang on Wednesday killing hundreds of people.