ACEH SHAKEN BY MAGNITUDE-5 EARTHQUAKE

Jakarta, Aug. 26 (ANTARA) - An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale jolted Aceh Province, northern Sumatra, in the wee hours of Wednesday.

The temblor's epicenter was located at 5.28 degrees northern latitude and 94.77 degrees eastern longitude, around 68 km southwest of Banda Aceh.

The earthquake located at a depth of 24 km below sea level did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami, according to information from the meteorological, climatology and geophysics office.

The tremor was also about 91 km southwest of Sabang-NAD, 132 km southwest of Sigli, 196 km northwest of Meulaboh, and 214 km northwest of Bireun.

Indonesia is prone to seismic upheavals due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 5.0 on the Richter scale respectively shook West Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara on Monday (Aug. 24).

West Sumatra had been shaken by a series of temblors over the past one week. Last Monday's temblor did not have potential to trigger a tsunami, but it was felt quite strongly by local residents who were forced to rush out of their homes in panic.

Padang city and several other regions in West Sumatra were repeatedly rattled by low-magnitude aftershocks, following a 6.9-magnitude earthquake which hit the province on Sunday (Aug. 16).

Last Sunday (Aug. 23), an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale shook the waters 172 km southeast of Melonguane in North Sulawesi province.