A massive earthquake struck off Indonesia's west coast late Monday, killing scores of people whose homes collapsed on them and spreading panic across the Indian Ocean that another killer tsunami was on the way. Indonesia's vice president predicted up to 2,000 deaths.
Fears of a second tsunami catastrophe in just over three months eased within hours, as officials in countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of earthquake-spawned waves that ravaged a dozen countries in Asia and Africa on December 26.
Almost all the deaths reported after the 8.7-magnitude quake were on Indonesia's Nias island, a popular surfing spot off Sumatra island's west coast and close to the epicenter. Police were pulling children's' bodies out of the rubble of collapsed houses, and a fire was reportedly raging in one town.
"It is predicted — and it's still a rough estimate — that the numbers of dead may be between 1,000 and 2,000," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the <i>el-Shinta</i> radio station, saying the estimate was based on an assessment of damage to buildings.
