Another Earthquake near Indonesia.

[rubberdinghy]

Apparently about an hour ago. Hopefully it won't be as devastating as the now infamous last one. Keep your fingers crossed. ((((Good Vibes))))

8.2 Magnitude.

[briguy]

Preliminary magnitude is 8.2

That's pretty big.

[bONES]

Another earthquake has brought death and destruction to a region that’s already known too much of it.

Officials now confirm that an 8.7 magnitude shaker that struck near Sumatra, Indonesia Monday has taken between 1,000 and 2,000 lives.

Most of the victims are on the island of Nias, where the Richter rumbler toppled buildings already damaged by the December 26th quake.

It was that seismic event that caused a tsunami which claimed 174,000 people and left over a million homeless.

Another wave watch was issued after this latest tremblor, which experts call a major aftershock from the post-Christmas incident. It struck along the same fault line that spawned the killer wave.

Residents in Banda Aceh, the hardest hit location in the last disaster, fled their homes in panic as the Earth shook again at just after 11pm local time. Many buildings are without power and locals scrambled to their cars in an effort to get as far away from the area as possible.

“People are still traumatized, still scared, they are running for higher ground," explains a recovery volunteer named Feri.

This latest tremor was felt as far away as Malaysia’s west coast, where tourists have already begun packing to leave – just in case.

But it appears the tiny island bore the brunt of this strike. “An indication of Nias being hard hit is that it is very hard to get contact with any of the local authorities or even aid groups that are active on Nias Island," warns Jan Egeland of the U.N.

So far, no giant walls of water have been spotted, with only a minor high wave lapping at Cocos Islands, some 2,200 kilometres west of Austraila.

"It seems this earthquake did not trigger a tsunami," figures Prihar Yadi, a scientist with the Indonesia Geophysics Agency. "If it had, the tsunami would have hit the coastline of Sumatra by now."

But few countries were taking any chances. Warnings sounded in Thailand, Japan and Sri Lanka. "The government has ordered coastal areas to move to higher ground," explains the latter country's Brig. Daya Ratnayake. "We are giving priorities to eastern coast."

Another tsunami – if it comes – would be the last thing any of the stricken countries need. They’ve just begun the process of cleaning up the damage and getting the survivors back into their homes and schools, and aren’t ready for any more unwelcome surprises from Mother Nature.