A powerful earthquake hit waters off western Indonesia earlier, prompting officials to briefly issue a tsunami warning.  Read the full story after the jump!

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The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.3-magnitude quake struck 260 miles off the coast just after 12am and it was centered 18 miles beneath the ocean floor.

People in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh fled their homes and waited outside as sirens blared from local mosques, some hopping in cars and motorcycles and heading for high ground.

“I’m afraid,” said Fera, a resident, who skidded off on her motorbike with her two children and her mom.  Residents of this area have every right to be.   Indonesia is located on on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanos and fault lines along the Pacific Basin, which leaves it prone to many issues like this.  A giant quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people.

Officials contacted by The Associated Press in several coastal cities had not received any reports about serious injures or damage, and about two hours after the quake struck, the local geological agency lifted it’s tsunami warning.

Source Associated Press