Sumatra earthquake: Tsunami warnings canceled

 The US Pacific Tsunami early warning center has now canceled its alert for the Indian Ocean although some local alerts remain in place.

That's being greeted with enormous relief in a region where memories are still raw over the 2004 quake and tsunami that killed more than a quarter of a million people.

Today's 8.6 quake was felt across the region.

"I was sitting on the chair in my office and chair was shivering. I thought, above my head there was an AC I thought the AC was shaking. Suddenly, the office people started running out. They were screaming and everybody was feeling that there is some earthquake happening," said Kumar, a Bangalore, India resident.

Tall buildings swaying in Bangkok and Singapore. In Ban Aceh just 300 miles from the epicenter terrified people ran to the streets.

It was followed by a massive aftershock almost as strong as the original quake, though thankfully there are no reports of any widespread casualties or damage.

Experts say the quake though powerful is what they call a lateral quake, meaning the movement was sideways not vertical and they say that reduced the chances of a destructive tsunami.

The quake was the most serious test yet for the early warning system set up after the 2004 tsunami and they do seem to have succeeded in getting people out of harm's way. Even though the quake generated mostly fear rather than destruction.