Five Dead After Quakes Spark Tsunami Alerts

Five people died and at least seven others were injured after two earthquakes struck off the coast of Indonesia and triggered tsunami alerts across the Indian Ocean.

Indonesian authorities said two people died from heart attacks and three from shock.

A child is in critical condition after falling from a tree during the quake on Wednesday in Aceh province, where 170,000 people died following a tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the country's disaster mitigation agency, said communities were trying to get back to normal after the tsunami fears sparked panic and chaos amid evacuations in the region.

He revealed there were 25 aftershocks following the initial 8.6 and 8.2 magnitude earthquakes that rocked Simeulue Island .

Terrified people fled their homes and places of work and headed for higher ground after the first tremor, which revived memories of the 2004 disaster.

The quakes triggered tsunami warnings as far away as Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Malaysia and Thailand.

But there was no repeat of the disaster which claimed the lives of around 230,000 seven years ago.

Officials said there was minimal damage this time because the epicentre of the quake was much farther offshore - and the country was better prepared to respond to such an event.

In November 2008, Indonesia launched its Tsunami Early Warning System, capable of issuing alerts within five minutes of an earthquake using a wide variety of sensors, seismographs and buoys to monitor ocean waves.

The use of smartphone and social media also helped spread the word.

Commenting on Indonesia's response, Denis Okello, information officer at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Jakarta, said: "We thought it went extremely well yesterday."

He said sirens warning people to move to higher ground had been activated by local officials receiving SMS messages and emails from Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

Holiday-makers at resorts in the region were evacuated and moved to higher ground.

British nationals holidaying in southeast Asia were told to monitor media reports and follow local advice by the Foreign Office .

The international airport on the tourist island of Phuket was also closed while the area remained on tsunami alert.