"People rushed from tower blocks into the street [in Jakarta], terrified that the quake could be a repeat of the massive earthquake that triggered the South Asia tsunami in 2004," reported Hendro Suwito, World Vision's communications manager in Indonesia.
"Many, many people rushed out of the high-rise buildings in Jakarta, and one TV station broadcast the lamps swinging from the station ceiling," Suwito said. "Over the last two months, we have felt shaking several times, but this one was bigger than all those."Christian humanitarian organisations World Vision and Catholic Relief Services both announced they are ready to respond in the aftermath of the quakes.
World Vision's director in Indonesia, Trihadi Saptoadi, and WV's humanitarian emergency assistance manager, Jimmy Nadapdap, are monitoring the situation to see if a rapid emergency response is required.
Catholic Relief Services, which has worked in Indonesia for 50 years, said it is in touch with local partners and communities and is positioned to respond.
Indonesia is often hit by quakes, lying on an active seismic belt on part of what is known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire". The world's largest archipelago has suffered 15 earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.3 or higher since the tsunami in December 2004, according to the US Geological Survey in Washington.
In 2004, a massive quake off Sumatra Island triggered the historic 2004 tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
Both quakes struck close to religious holidays with the 2004 quake occurring on December 26 - one day after Christmas - and Wednesday's quake striking a day before the beginning of Ramadan - the holiest month in Islam - in Indonesia. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world.
Wednesday's undersea quake hit at about 6:10pm local time, according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicentre was 80 miles southwest of Sumatra Island at a depth of 18.6 miles.
