A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Aceh and South Sumatra in Indonesia early Wednesday morning. The undersea quake epicenter was at the 34 KM off Simelue island in the west coast of Sumatra.

Tsunami warning has been issued by the Thailand government.

Maskuncung : Earthquake in #aceh, electricity down.. Im sad to hear that.. Thank God no tsunami there

funkynektaria : apparently there's five aftershocks around north sumatera and aceh after earthquake this morning #fb #aceh #indonesia #earthquake

Twitter is useful in quake prone Indonesia as a tool for breaking news and to alert others of natural hazards since the Meteorology and Climatology Agency's (BMG) website is often down due to heavy traffic.

hSammir : Seperti biasanya, ketika
#gempa besar terjadi, situs #BMG #Indonesia tidak bisa di akses. MEMALUKAN!!!!

The people of Sumatra has witnessed some of the most devastating earthquakes of the decade. In 2004 boxing day, a giant tsunami struck Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh leaving more than a hundred thousand people dead and about five hundred thousand residents homeless. To date the Acehnese are still living in fear.

LaidHu : @helmiiii gempa di aceh dirasakan jga ya di medan.. Kasian saudara2 di aceh,apalagi bnyak banget gempa2 susulan #aceh

Despite having the tsunami warning downgraded, people are still preparing for the worst-case scenario.

leksa : Msh saja ada yg merasa liat tanda2 tsunami, berlari2 menjauhi laut, membuat suasan panik #gempa

The Indonesian govenrment sent its Air Force Cessna to map the devastated area and transport some relief goods.

According to the BMG's website there have been six aftershocks in Sumatra and a 5.5 on Richter Scale jolt occured in the Indonesian spice islands of Moluccas on Wednesday late afternoon local time.