Nine people died and "hundreds" were injured in a powerful earthquake which struck Indonesia's Sumatra region today, triggering tsunami warnings in the Indian Ocean, an Indonesian government official said.
The 8.4 magnitude earthquake also caused extensive damage to buildings along Sumatra's coast,
A resident looks at a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck in Padang, Indonesia's West Sumatra province today.
according to Adam Malik of Indonesia's National Disaster Management Office.
Indonesia issued two tsunami warnings, one after the first quake, and the second after a smaller tremor a few hours later in the same area.
However, the Indonesian warnings and most others in the region had been lifted by 5pm on today. Several big aftershocks were reported in the area.
An official at Indonesia's meteorological agency said gauges measured a wave surge of 1 metre after the first quake.
Indonesian presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told Reuters one person had died after being hit by debris in Bengkulu, a town in south Sumatra close to the quake.
"The emergency rescue system has mobilised and the president has ordered the military to help the rescue effort," he added.
Some buildings in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra had collapsed, witnesses reported, while Metro TV said some buildings had caught fire.
Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar said three people were trapped in a collapsed three-story office building.
A Reuters witness said residents of Padang fled for higher ground.