Tanjungpinang (ANTARA Kepri) - A quake of a magnitude of   8.9 on the Richter scale shocked Aceh on Wednesday at 3.38 pm local time but did not affect Riau Islands province, a staff official of the Tanjungpinang Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency Bhakti Wirakusuma said.

"The people on Riau Islands (Kepri) do not have to worry because the quake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale did not reach Riau Islands," he added.

The quake in Aceh was caused by a friction between the Eurasia and Indoaustralia plates.

The quake in Aceh affects only the western coast of Sumatra and the regions around it, while Kepri is located very far from the point of the quake, and is therefore not felt by people in Kepri.

"Theoretically, a quake with a magnitude of even more than 10 on the Richter scale would be felt in Kepri slightly," he said.

It had been reported from Bandarlampung that the geophysics station in Kotabumi, North Lampung, Lampung, has issued an early warning for a tsunami in Bengkulu Province, Lampung, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), West Sumatra, and North Sumatra.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency  (BMKG), an after shock had struck with a magnitude of 8.5 on the Richter scale at 15.38.29 local time in coordinates 2.31 degrees Northern Latitude and 92.67 degrees Eastern Longitude with its  episentrum of only 10 kilometers.

(H-NG/B003)