Indonesia lifts tsunami alert after powerful undersea quake

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has lifted a tsunami alert Tuesday following a magnitude 7.1 undersea earthquake that hit off Mentawai Island, triggering panic in a region prone to fatal quakes but apparently causing no major damage or casualties. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake was centered 170.4 kilometers (105.6 miles) southeast of Teluk Dalam, a coastal town in the South Nias Regency, North Sumatra province, at a depth of 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) under the sea, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Residents in parts of West Sumatra province, including the provincial capital of Padang, felt the earthquake strongly for about 30 seconds while most residents were sleeping, causing panic. Some places ordered evacuations to higher ground in darkness.