Ammon News - A magnitude-7.1 offshore earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, the US Geological Survey reported on Tuesday.

The strong undersea earthquake sent streams of people fleeing to higher ground, after a tsunami warning was briefly triggered.

The initial tremor occurred at a depth of about 15 km. Strong to violent shaking was reported in areas close to the epicenter, with moderate to strong tremors felt in more distant areas of the island of Sumatra and weak to light shaking experienced as far as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

There have been no initial reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake.