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Tsunami alerts cause panic
28/03/2005 22:12 - (SA)
Banda Aceh, Indonesia - An earthquake off Indonesia measuring over 8.0 on the Richter Scale triggered tsuanmi alerts around the Indian Ocean on Monday, causing panic three months after giant waves killed hundreds of thousands in the region.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the sub-sea quake which was felt in neighbouring countries and prompted India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand to join Indonesia in issuing alerts.
"An earthquake above 7.0 on the Richter scale can definitely create a tsunami, therefore we have raised a tsunami warning as there is a lot of islands in the area," said Ramlan, an Indonesian meteorological official.
He said the quake was measured at magnitude 8.0, some 90km southeast of the island of Sinabang, which lies off the southern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Other measurements put the quake at 8.2.
Thousands of people fled their homes in panic in Banda Aceh, the city at the northwestern tip of Sumtra after the three-minute quake struck at 23:15, according to an AFP reporter in the city.
Many headed for higher ground, while police called for calm and mosques broadcast messages saying: "Don't panic, there is no tsunami".
It was felt in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, where guests and residents evacuated high-rise hotels and apartments, an AFP correspondent said.
Tremors were also felt in Padang, the capital of neighbouring Sumatra province, where it downed powerlines, according to local Metro TV. No telephone contact was immediately possible with Padang or another major city, Medan.
Officials in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand took no chances, issuing warnings and urging citizens living along shorelines to evacuate their homes.
"We have just received an alert ... and have asked the fishermen down the coast to move towards the interior," said C V Shanker, a tsunami relief officer in India's southeastern Tamil Nadu state.
Moving to higher ground
Thai meteorological department deputy director Lalith Chandrapala told AFP there was no report of any tsunami. "But, we are asking people living along the coast to leave as a precaution."
"The earthquake is strong enough to issue the warning for people to evacuate as a prevention, particularly in the area affected by the tsunami last time," Thailand's deputy chief meteorologist Chalermchai Akekantrong told local TV.
People at the famous Patong beach on the tourist island of Phuket were already headed toward higher ground, TV reports said.
Similar scenes were reported in coastal cities and towns across Sumatra.
"I'm trying to find my family, there are all women, they were very scared and ran out of the house," said one man in Peurada village, in Sumatra's western Aceh province, who was searching for his relatives on a motorcycle.
"I have put everything I own on the roof," he added.
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