Tsunami less likely, says expert

London -  The nature of the massive earthquake that struck off Indonesia Wednesday makes it "less likely to produce a destructive tsunami", an expert said.

Bruce Presgrave of the US Geological Survey (USGS) told the BBC that the nature of the quake made it less likely that it would spawn a tsunami.

He explained that the earth had moved horizontally, rather than vertically, and hence not displaced large volumes of water.

"We can't rule out the possibility, but horizontal motion is less likely to produce a destructive tsunami," he was quoted as saying.

Initial reports had said that the quake measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, but the USGS later revised it to 8.6 on the Richter scale.