In nations around the Indian Ocean, thousands scrambled for higher ground Wednesday after powerful quakes triggered fears of a disaster in a region all too familiar with the power of a tsunami.

Warnings that destructive waves could tear into coastal regions sparked mass evacuations from India to Kenya, reawakening painful memories of the catastrophic 2004 tsunami that claimed nearly a quarter of a million lives.

The 8.6-magnitude undersea quake and strong aftershocks hit off Indonesia's Sumatra island just a few hundred kilometres from the epicentre of that deadly event, with witnesses saying they felt the ground shake for well over a minute.

In Indonesia's Banda Aceh, which was devastated by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, people raced from tall buildings and headed inland as warnings of another destructive tsunami were issued across the region.

The alerts were cancelled several hours later after the waves proved to be limited and at their highest less than a metre.

But in the hours before the all-clear, there were chaotic scenes as people grabbed their families and raced through crowded streets, with motorbikes and cars jostling for space.

"It lasted a very long time," said Australian Steven Sewell in Padang, West Sumatra where he runs a surfing charter business, adding that the quake sparked fear in the streets.

"We headed to higher ground above the river for two hours then the second one (aftershock) hit.

"The second one was almost as long as the first one. Just prolonged shaking from side to side... Pretty scary when your pregnant wife's in the car."

In Sri Lanka which was also hard-hit by the 2004 disaster, thousands fled coastal homes after a tsunami warning was issued across the island and residents were urged to move inland to avoid being hit by any large waves.

"There is a near panic situation," a resident in Trincomalee contacted by telephone said, adding that the port city was packed with last-minute shoppers trying to stock up before the traditional New Year on Friday.

Malaysian state news agency Bernama said the quake was felt across the country including in the capital Kuala Lumpur, and the northern state of Perlis where panicky residents rushed from apartment blocks.

Buildings swayed as far away as the Thai capital Bangkok. Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre advised people in the area to move to higher places and stay as far away as possible from the sea.

Australian Bonnie Muddle, vacationing on the Thai resort island of Phuket, said people were being evacuated from popular tourist areas including Krabi and Phang Nga Bay amid rumours that towering waves up to six metres high were barrelling towards them.

"Everyone is getting a little concerned over here," she told AFP.

The December 26, 2004 disaster was triggered by a massive 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra which caused a tsunami that wrought devastation across the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 220,000 people.

Last year, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, killing some 19,000 people.

Terrified Indonesian island survives quake
Simeulue, Indonesia (AFP) April 11, 2012 - Terrified villagers on a remote Indonesian island near the epicentre of a massive earthquake ran out of their homes and headed for the hills when the ground began to shake Wednesday.

Asnawi, 42, from the village of Malasin, recalled the shock of the 8.6-magnitude quake that triggered a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean.

"Everybody in the village rushed outside. The ground was shaking very hard and it lasted about five minutes. All of us were panicking, children and women were screaming and crying," he told AFP.

"I was outside my house but my 11-year old daughter and my wife were inside. I just screamed at them to get out quickly, because I was so scared that my house would collapse," said Asnawi, who goes by one name.

The Simeulue island of fishing villages sits close to the epicentre of the quake which struck in the late afternoon and was followed by a strong 8.2-magnitude aftershock.

Electricity was knocked out and villagers sat outside their homes in the darkness with their most precious possessions.

The 80,000 people on the island know well the destruction tsunamis can bring -- an enormous tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude quake devastated Indonesia in December 2004 and claimed a fifth of Simeulue island, though only a few lives.

An AFP correspondent on the island said Wednesday he saw the water recede around 10 metres (33 feet) -- a strong sign that a tsunami is approaching -- and that residents were relieved when a one-metre wave came and went, causing little bother.

The homes in Malasin were newly built after the 2004 tsunami, but they are wooden huts that are still flimsy and vulnerable.

"The ceiling of my house has fallen and some windows were broken," Asnawi said, adding that his home was rebuilt after being completely destroyed in the 2004 killer tsunami, which claimed 170,000 lives in Banda Aceh province, 150 kilometres (93 miles) away.

Dewi Phoennadiyani, who runs a surf resort on the island, said some of her staff members would spend the night in the hills and return home in the morning when they know it is safe.

"My staff called me and told me that all the electricity is out, so people have panicked and feel safer in the hills. They prefer to return home in daylight," she said, speaking from the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh on Sumatra island.

Phoennadiyani said that residents on the island, even children, had strong survival skills in the event of a tsunami.

"About 100 years ago, there was an enormous tsunami they called Semong, which wiped out parts of the island. Since then, the locals have passed the knowledge down to younger generations of how to read signs a tsunami is coming," she said.

"When people see it coming they yell 'Semong' and people know to run. That's why there were so few deaths in 2004, even though the tsunami destroyed so much of the island."