Wednesday's Aceh quake caused by fractures in Mentawai: Expert

An earthquake expert of Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, said that the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which hit Simeulue, Aceh, on Wednesday morning was believed to have been caused by plate fractures around Mentawai Islands of the western coast of Sumatra.

“It was a new earthquake type. The disaster once again shows that earthquakes remain unpredictable,” Badrul Kamal said in Padang as quoted by Antara.

Badrul said that most experts had thought that Sumatra would be free from more quakes after the 8.7-magnitude quake in Nias in 2005 and 9.2-magnitude in Aceh in the previous year.

“We’re not secure yet [from the quake]. There are always possibilities a disaster may occur in West Sumatra, although the chance is small,” he added.