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.