Second Earthquake Rocks Indonesia

What appears to be another earthquake - not, repeat, not, an aftershock has hit western Indonesia near the city of Padang. More buildings have collapsed and tsunami warnings are being issued all through the region. There is no word on casualties yet.

The latest quake was also felt in Malaysia and in Singapore where tall buildings swayed.

Rafael Abreu, a geologist with The U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado, said the magnitude-7.8 quake did not appear to be an aftershock to Wednesday's 8.4-magnitude temblor.

"We are not calling it an aftershock at this point. It's fairly large itself. It seems to be a different earthquake," Abreu said.

He said a tsunami watch was in effect for Australia and Indonesia. Indonesia later lifted its alert with no tsunamis detected.

"The quake seems to be pretty shallow," he said. "These are the quakes that can produce tsunamis."

The USGS said the new quake was centered about 125 miles from Bengkulu, a city on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which was ravaged by the 2004 tsunami. It occurred at a shallow depth of about six miles.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii warned Thursday's quake had the potential to generate a destructive regional tsunami along coasts within 600 miles of the epicenter. It advised authorities to take immediate action to evacuate coastal areas.

On Wednesday, a strong earthquake shook Southeast Asia, collapsing buildings, killing at least five people and injuring dozens in Indonesia. That tremor triggered small waves off the coastal city of Padang in Sumatra, the island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami disaster.

Thursday's quake caused extensive damage in Padang, a local official said.

"Many buildings collapsed after this morning's quake," Fauzi Bahar, the governor, told El Shinta radio. "We're still trying to find out about victims.

Agam from Agam's Gecko has a report on the earlier earthquake from Thailand.