A 7.9 strong earth quake struck off Sumatra island in Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon. The Sumatra earthquake could cause a destructive tsunami at various points throughout the Indian Ocean region, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The epicentre was about 50km off the coast, near the city of Padang. There are reports of damage to buildings but it is unclear if there are casualties.

The earth quake struck at 5:17 pm Thai time and could be felt in high rise buildings as far away as Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Singapore.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami alert for Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Thailand, The Associated Press said.

The wire agency also said that the quake, which struck off the city of Padang on the coast of Sumatra, damaged houses, brought down bridges and started fires in the city.

“Hundreds of houses have been damaged along the road. There are some fires, bridges are cut and there is extreme panic here maybe because water pipes are broken and there is flooding in the streets,” said a Reuters witness in the city.

Phone lines were down, Reuters reported.

The depth of the tsunami was measured at 85km, the United States Geological Survey said.

A series of tsunamis earlier smashed into the Pacific island nations of American and Western Samoa killing possibly more than 100 people, some washed out to sea, destroying villages and injuring hundreds, officials said on Wednesday.

A 9.15-magnitude quake, with its epicentre roughly 600km northwest of Padang, caused the 2004 tsunami which killed 232,000 people in Indonesia’s Aceh province, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and other countries across the Indian Ocean.

Geologists have long said Padang, with a population of 900,000, may one day be destroyed by a huge earthquake because of its location, Reuters reported.

“Padang sits right in front of the area with the greatest potential for an 8.9 magnitude earthquake,” said Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, a geologist at the Indonesian Science Institute, earlier this year.

“The entire city could drown,” in a tsunami triggered by such a quake, he warned.