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A massive earthquake was felt on Wednesday along the Northwestern Coast of Sumatra around the Province of Aceh. The earthquake occured 365 km off the coast of Aceh and had a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale. Indonesian Meterorological services reported that small tsunami waves hit the coasts of Sabang and Meulaboh, in Aceh. “The potentials for a tsunami is not as big as in 2004,” declared however Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
A tsunami alert has been triggered by authorities all around the region. In Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga in Southern Thailand, people started to be evacuated on neighbouring hills in the Southern provinces. In parallel, various embassies issued in Thailand advices asking people to leave the coast. Flights from and to Phuket airport were suspended during the afternoon. In Malaysia, authorities declared a tsunami alert along the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia with the immediate evacuation of residents along the coastal states of Perlis, Kedah, Langkawi, Penang and Perak.In Indonesia, authorities issued a warning for people living in the provinces of Aceh, North and West Sumatra, Bengkulu and Lampung. Press agency Reuters at 5:20 pm local time (12:20 pm Central European time), Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that there was "no tsunami threat, although we are on alert," in a televised speech from the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.
In December 2004, Aceh was devastated by a 9.1 magnitude quake. Some 170,000 people died alone in Sumatra while the tsunami claimed over 230,000 victims in 13 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
