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Published on Apr 21, 2012
JAKARTA (AFP) - A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, but no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake struck at 5.14am (6.14am Singapore time) at a depth of about 34km, 427km south-west of
Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra. There were no immediate reports of damage.
Aceh province was shaken earlier this month by two huge earthquakes, triggering an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert.
At a magnitude of 8.6, the first of the two quakes was the strongest to hit since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 170,000 in Aceh. No major damage was reported.

Published on Apr 21, 2012
Aceh province was shaken earlier this month by two huge earthquakes, triggering an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert. A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's Papua region on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, but no tsunami warning was issued. -- PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA (AFP) - A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's Papua region on Saturday, the
United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, but no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake struck at 10.16am (9.16am Singapore time) at a depth of 30km, 83km south-east of Manokwari, the USGS added, revising down from 6.9. There were no immediate reports of damage.
'We don't yet know the impact of the quake, but so far there are no reports of damage. We know people ran out in a panic and said the shaking was quite strong,' technical chief of Indonesia's Meteorology and
Geophysics Agency Suharjono told AFP.
A hotel receptionist at the Mansinam Beach Resort in Manokwari reported a minute of shaking, but said she saw no damage.
'All our guests panicked and ran out of the building, but they went back after the quake was over and everything is back to normal as far as I can see,' Ms Anita, who goes by one name, told AFP.

The Papua region was struck by a 5.7-magnitude aftershock at 10.24am with a depth of 10km, 83km northeast of the town Teluk Bintuni.

Published on Apr 21, 2012
A plume of ash and smoke rises from the Popocatepetl volcano seen from the outskirts of the town of Santiago Xalizintla,
Mexico on Friday, April 20, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
SANTIAGO XALITZINTLA, Mexico, (AFP) - Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, outside the capital, rumbled continuously and spewed gases and glowing rocks to almost one kilometre beyond its crater, authorities said on Friday.
In an increase of activity the volcano registered '62 expulsions of medium intensity, with the emission of water vapour, gas, ashes and glowing rocks,' between Thursday night and Friday, said a statement from the
National Centre of Disaster Prevention.
Authorities raised the alert level on Monday to five on a seven-point scale, extending a security radius around the 5.452m volcano but stopping short of starting evacuations from nearby communities.
Residents in the nearby town of Santiago Xalitzintla said the volcano was now constantly rumbling.
'There was a strong humming sound all night... it's roaring,' said Mr Alvaro Perez.
Another resident said her family was scared of what might happen next.
'My smallest son, who is four years old, was woken up by the roar during the night,' said Ms Sofia Lopez.
''Mum, are we leaving now?' he asked me. I told him that it was OK, but the truth is that we're very scared.'

Officials in the central state of Puebla have prepared temporary shelters for possible evacuations and locals were wearing face masks to protect their lungs from ashes in a populous area around the volcano.
Popocatepetl, Mexico's second highest peak, means 'smoking mountain' in the indigenous Nahuatl language.
After moderate activity during most of the 20th Century, the towering mountain registered more intense rumblings from 1994, with the strongest in December 2000 when nearby communities were evacuated.