JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - After a strong earthquake struck the western Indonesian coast, authorities there issued a tsunami warning.

According to the USGS, the earthquake, which occurred 260 miles (420 kilometers) off the coast of Aceh province, had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3.

Its center was 30 kilometers (18 miles) below the surface of the ocean.

A tsunami warning has been issued, according to geological agency representative Arief Akhir.

Due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a ring of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin, Indonesia is vulnerable to seismic tremors.

On December 26, 2004, a massive earthquake off the nation sparked a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, almost half of them in Aceh.