Powerful Earthquake Hits off Coast of Indonesia

A strong earthquake has hit off the coast of western Indonesia, prompting local officials to issue a tsunami warning.

The U.S. Geological survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck 260 miles off the coast of Aceh province.

It was centered 18 miles beneath the ocean floor.

Arief Akhir, an official with Indonesia's geological agency, said a tsunami warning has been issued and the situation is being watched closely.

Indonesia is always prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

A giant quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Aceh.

Updates to come...

Update on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 3:01PM by Rick C.Limpert

Looks like it might've been a 7.3  Aftershocks are expected.