Moderate quake strikes Indonesia's Sumatra

A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia's Sumatra island, but there are no immediate reports of damage.

A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage, geologists said.

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The quake hit at 10:07 am (0307 GMT), 51 kilometres (31 miles) southwest of Tebing Tinggi in Bengkulu province, the Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said via text message.

The quake struck inland at a depth of 10 kilometres, it said.

"There's no reports of damage so far but the quake was felt in Kepahiang and Bengkulu town," agency geologist Ali Imran told AFP.

The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at 5.4-magnitude.

Another earthquake, measuring 5.6 in magnitude, hit northeast of Pagai Utara island in West Sumatra province on Monday, the agency said.

At least 23 people died and thousands of homes were damaged last September when an 8.4-magnitude quake hit West Sumatra and other areas.

Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004 that killed 168,000 people in the country's Aceh province.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet, causing seismic and volcanic activity.