Indonesia Rocked by Earthquake Tsunami Alert Issued
A very powerful earthquake struck of the western coast of Indonesia on Wednesday.
The 7.3 magnitude quake struck 262 miles south-west of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, a report from the U.S. Geological Survey stated. The quake had a depth of 18.1 miles.
A giant earthquake off Indonesia in December 2004 triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more than 230,000 people, half of them in Aceh.
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An official with Indonesia's geological agency, Arief Akhir, confirmed that a tsunami warning had been issued, according to the AFP
Indonesia is prone to seismic events due to its location on the Pacific’s "Ring of Fire" which is one of the most seismically active regions on earth.
An official at Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said it also had put out a tsunami alert, but that there were no immediate reports of casualties.
"The quake was in the sea and a tsunami warning is in force, but so far we have no reports of casualties or damage," Suharjono, the agency's technical chief, told AFP.
