A local tsunami alert was issued and later lifted after an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck Sumatra, Indonesia.
The United States Geological Survey says sea level readings indicate that a significant tsunami was not generated.
The West Aceh police chief Djoko Widodo says the quake, which struck around 225 kilometres south of Banda Aceh, briefly caused panic.
He says he knows of no damage but says people were afraid to go back inside.
A 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Sumatra island killed 170,000 people in Aceh province alone, while more than 1,000 people died after a powerful quake hit the city of Padang last September.
