Tsunami warning. (BMKG Graphic) |
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Indonesia
issued a tsunami warning Wednesday after an earthquake with a preliminary
magnitude of 8.5 hit waters off westernmost Aceh province.
Said, an
official at Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency who goes by only one
name, said a tsunami warning has been issued for Aceh, West Sumatra, North
Sumatra, Lampung and Bengkulu. The tsunami was expected to reach Aceh at 4:31
p.m.
According
to Metro TV, traffic was chaotic Wednesday afternoon in Banda Aceh as people
flee coastal areas for higher ground in the east. Power and internet is
reportedly down in the provincial capita.
In Padang,
hospitals are reportedly evacuating patients from the building.
Thailand
issued an evacuation order Wednesday for its Andaman coast, a popular tourist
destination, after a massive earthquake off Indonesia triggered a tsunami
alert.
Thailand’s
National Disaster Warning Center advised people in the area to move to higher
places and stay as far away as possible from the sea.
People on
Twitter said tremors were felt in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India.
High-rise apartments and offices on Malaysia’s west coast shook for at least a
minute. In Bangalore, India hundreds of office workers left their buildings,
workers there said.
The U.S.
Geological Survey said the powerful quake was centered 20 miles (33 kilometers)
beneath the ocean floor around 308 miles (495 kilometers) from Aceh’s
provincial capital.
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a tsunami warning for
the following 27 countries: Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Burma,
Thailand, Maldives, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Reunion, Seychelles, Pakistan,
Somalia, Oman, Madagascar, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Comores,
Bangladesh, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands,
South Africa and Singapore.
Indonesia
straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to
volcanic and seismic activity.
A giant
9.1-magnitude quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in
the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, nearly three quarter of them in
Aceh.
JG/ AP/ Reuters/ AFP
Residents
of Banda Aceh flee shortly after a powerful
earthquake hit the western coast of
Sumatra in Banda Aceh
on Wednesday. (AFP Photo)
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