The news went straight to my inbox and I feel it is important for people, especially those reside around the said region to know the incoming dangerous, prior to earthquake event in Indonesia. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii has issued a tsunami alert for Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Thailand following a powerful earthquake in central Sumatra late this evening. Indonesia’s meteorological agency said the tremor had a magnitude of 7.6 with its epicenter just off the southern coast of Sumatra.

“Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a destructive local tsunami and sometimes a destructive regional tsunami along coasts located usually no more than a thousand kilometers from the earthquake epicenter. Areas further from the epicenter could experience small sea level changes and strong or unusual coastal currents. However, it is not known that a tsunami was generated. This watch is based only on the earthquake evaluation. Authorities in the region should take appropriate action in response to this possibility. The watch will not expand to other areas of the Indian ocean unless additional data are received to warrant such an expansion.”

It said that the earthquake struck at 6.16pm Malaysian time and should there be a tsunami, it would reach Georgetown, Penang at 11.46pm and Port Dickson at 3.18am tomorrow. However, according to Indonesian experts, the earthquake did not trigger any tsunami.

Meanwhile, at least 113 people are dead after another earthquake in the Pacific and tsunami hit the Samoan islands and Tonga. Officials said 22 had died in American Samoa and another seven in Tonga. Dozens more people were missing and feared dead, but officials in South Pacific islands said communications were down to many outlying villages. In American Samoa, about 100km from Samoa, Homeland Security director Michael Sala said the tsunami which followed about 20 minutes after the earthquake, did most of the damage. The eastern part of American Samoa was without power and water supplies after the devastating earthquake, which struck at 6:48am (1.48am Malaysian time).

In Tonga, government officials said there were seven dead and three missing on the small island of Niuatoputapu. The officials flew over the island from the capital Nuku’alofa but were unable to land because of damage to the airstrip. They said they would make their way there by sea overnight to assess the full extent of the damage.

Resource: Email