Indonesian authorities urged coastal-dwellers to head for higher ground on Friday after a tsunami warning with potential for waves up to 3m (10 feet) following a powerful earthquake off the islands of Sumatra and Java.
The Indonesian geophysics agency issued the warning after the quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey initially said had a magnitude of 7 and hit at a depth of 59 km, about 227 km from the city of Teluk Betung. The magnitude was later lowered to 6.8.
The geophysics agency said there was a risk of a tsunami of in southern parts of Pandeglang and Panaitan island in Banten Province, and Lampung in Sumatra. However, it lifted the tsunami warning hours later.
The earthquake hit about 227 km from the city of Teluk Betung on the Sumatra island.
Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said on Twitter that residents near coastlines at risk should “immediately evacuate to higher ground”.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but strong tremors were felt in Jakarta, the capital, prompting people to run out of office buildings.
The quake could also be felt in other cities such as Yogyakarta on Java island.
“It was so scary,” said Gustiani Pratiwi, who was carrying two children near an apartment block in Jakarta when she felt the quake strongly.
Last year, a tsunami hit the city of Palu in Sulawesi island, killing hundreds , while a crater collapse at the Anak Krakatau volcano triggered a tsunami that killed at least 430 people in an area near the latest quake.
At Carita beach in Banten, which was affected by the Anak Krakatau quake, a resident described the alarm in the area.
“We are panicking a lot,” Sandi, a resident of Carita beach, told Metro TV by telephone.
PTI adds:
‘No tsunami threat to India’
There is no tsunami threat to India following the high intensity earthquake that hit Indonesia on August 2 evening, said an official of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).
“We had issued a tsunami alert after the earthquake. We have now issued an advisory that there is no tsunami threat to India due to the earthquake,” said S.S.C. Shenoi, the director of the Hyderabad-based INCOIS.
NCS and INCOIS fall under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Published - August 02, 2019 06:06 pm IST
