Large earthquake hits off Sumatra

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An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.5 shook the west coast of Sumatra Island on Wednesday, April 11th, 2011 at 15:38 West Indonesia Time. The quake had a depth of 29 kilometres. The epicenter was about 431 kilometres southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of province of Aceh, Sumatra island. The quake shook Nangroe Aceh Darussalam, Bengkulu, Lampung, West Sumatra and North Sumatra.

In Banda Aceh, the quake terrified residents rushed out of their homes, and go to higher ground. The electricity and telephone line are also interrupted by the earthquake.