当地时间28日深夜，印尼苏门答腊岛附近海域发生里氏8.7级强烈地震。印度洋沿岸国家随即发出了海啸警报。据估计，地震可能已造成近两千人死亡。外电报道如下：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点。此外还有“中心，集中点”的意思，例如：a focal point（集中点），stood at the epicenter of the international crisis（处于国际危机的中心）。

（中国日报网站编）