Scientists have warned that last week's 8.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Aceh, which suffered massive damage in the December 26 tsunami, could be a prelude to another seismic cataclysm.

Their theories have fuelled panic among people in Aceh, and on shores and islands around the region affected by both disasters, with many now so traumatised that they cannot return to their coastal homes.

In the village of Lambada Lhok, outside the Achenese capital Banda Aceh, about two-thirds of 3,000 residents were killed when the tsunami waves swept ashore, pulverising vast tracts of densely inhabited coastline.

But though they have heard predictions of bigger and more deadly quakes, and admit to fearing the seas that conceal violent seismic faultlines, they say they have no option but to stay and continue their lives.

"We belong here and we will stay. Everybody who is still alive here also wants to remain," said fisherman Mahdi Ali, speaking at a coffee stall in a tent near the village mosque, one of few buildings still standing.

Mahdi said his fellow villagers refused to move to semi-permanent barracks built for tsunami victims by the government because they are located far from the sea. Many have pitched tents on the land where their houses once stood.

"We have been fishermen since we were very young. We want to stay close to the sea because we can't be farmers," he said.

Aceh, at the western tip of Indonesia, is steeped in maritime tradition. The province was the gateway into the archipelago for many ocean-going traders from the Middle East and, in later centuries, Europe.

Islamic seafarers also brought their religion to Indonesia, now the world's largest Muslim-populated country, through Aceh, earning it a nickname: the "Verandah of Mecca".

Aceh's staunch belief in Islam is visible in Lambada Lhok, where work has resumed on the unfinished mosque while villagers still live in tents. Achenese faith is credited with giving them strength in the face of disaster.

"Death can come anywhere. You can go to the mountains but if Allah decides to destroy the mountains, what can you do?" said Mahdi.

The 34-year-old said on the day the tsunami struck, he had broken with his normal routine to go fishing on a Sunday and had been safely out to sea. But his wife of one year was killed, her body never found.

"When I returned, the whole village had disappeared. There were bodies everywhere," he said, smoking furiously.

Another fisherman, Azhari, also survived the tsunami thanks to his job. He was at sea when the disaster struck and managed to save seven people who were drifting on the water.

He said he was not afraid of another tsunami even though he lost his wife and two young children.

"Our life is in the hands of Allah, so I surrender everything to him. Maybe I don't have an appointment with Allah yet," he said.

American Jason Adams-Brown, of the Sosial Kreasi foundation group of foreign and local aid workers helping the villagers of Lambada Lhok construct new homes, said he was personally against building houses near the sea, considering the threat.

"It wasn't our choice. They said they were going to build houses here with or without our help and so we said, 'OK, we would like to help you'," he told

"These are houses that can easily be taken apart or moved. So if for some reason the government decides they can't have temporary houses here, then they will be able to move them."

Adams-Brown said despite the residents' determination to stay, there were lingering concerns about another disaster.

"I think there's strong fear, but their desire is to try to figure out how to begin anew and get back to how things were slowly," he said.

Mahdi agrees, saying his community is far from stoic about the possible threat and was alarmed by last Monday's giant tremor.

"Of course we are prepared. When there's an earthquake we are ready to run, just like on Monday. But the kind of disaster that we have experienced doesn't happen every week or every month," Mahdi said.