Thousands of residents in the Indonesian town of Padang, capital of West Sumatra province, have fled to the higher ground following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that shook the town Sunday evening, according to local media reports on Monday.

The tremor was also felt in several other towns but there has been no report of damage or casualty from the provincial government, reported the Antara news agency.

Meanwhile, the provincial meteorology and geophysics agency said Monday that at least 70 aftershocks have been recorded since the Sunday's quake, with the strongest measuring at 6.0 on the Richter scale.

Offices and schools in Padang were closed Monday and people left the twon for fear of tsunami, reported Detikcom online news service.

Sunday's tremor came two weeks after an 8.2 magnitude quake that hit Nias and Simeuleu islands off Sumatra's west coast and killed at least 630 people.

On Dec. 26 last year, an earthquake-triggered tsunami swept through Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra and left more than 220,000 people dead or missing.

Source: Xinhua