當地時間28日深夜，印尼蘇門答臘島附近海域發生里氏8.7級強烈地震。印度洋沿岸國家隨即發出了海嘯警報。據估計，地震可能已造成近兩千人死亡。外電報道如下：A powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia's west coast late Monday, killing hundreds of people whose homes collapsed on them and spreading panic across the Indian Ocean that another killer tsunami was on the way. Indonesia's vice president predicted up to 2,000 deaths.

But fears of a second tsunami catastrophe in just over three months eased within hours, as officials in countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of quake-spawned waves that ravaged a dozen countries in Asia and Africa on Dec. 26.

Almost all the deaths reported in the hours immediately after Monday's quake were on Indonesia's Nias island, off Sumatra island's west coast and close to the epicenter. Police were pulling children's' bodies out of the rubble of collapsed houses, and a fire was reportedly raging in one town.

Epicenter表示“震中”，即地震中位于震源正上方地球表面上的點。此外還有“中心，集中點”的意思，例如：a focal point（集中點），stood at the epicenter of the international crisis（處于國際危機的中心）。

（中國日報網站編）