PADANG, Indonesia, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- At least seven people were hurt Sunday in an earthquake and series of aftershocks off the coast of Indonesia's West Sumatra, officials said.
Rustam Pakaya of the social affairs ministry's disaster response division told CNN the injuries happened at Padang in West Sumatra, while Sudirman Gani, the head of National Unity Affairs for West Sumatra, said the victims were hospitalized with minor injuries.
"People were (in) panic, but now, they are going back to their own houses," Gani said. "We have coordinated with the local disaster agency to anticipate another quake within the next 24 hours."
No tsunami warning was issued, but that didn't stop residents of Siberut Island from leaving their homes and heading for a nearby hill after the main quake, measured at 6.9 on the Richter scale, The Jakarta Post reported.
Hundreds of people fled buildings in Padang when the initial quake hit at about 2:40 p.m. local time, its epicenter located southeast of Siberut Island off West Sumatra at a depth of 25 miles, Kompas.com reported.
Two aftershocks with magnitudes of 5.2 and 5.6 followed within the hour.
The 5.2 tremor occurred 50 miles northeast of Sipura of Mentawai, West Sumatra, at a depth of 6 miles, while the 5.6 tremor occurred 50 miles southwest of Padang at a depth of 6 miles, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
