The
2005 Sumatra earthquake (referred to as the
Nias earthquake by the scientific community) occurred on 28 March off the west coast of northern
Sumatra,
Indonesia. Approximately 1300 people were killed by it, mostly on the island of
Nias. The event caused panic in the region, which had been devastated by the massive
tsunami triggered by the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, but this earthquake generated a relatively small tsunami that caused limited damage. It was the third most powerful earthquake since 1965 in Indonesia.