This is nothing compare to what is coming soon
A fresh tsunami warning has been issued after a strong 8.2-magnitude aftershock rattled the same area.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the aftershock struck at 8.43pm 615 kilometres from Banda Aceh.
This follows expert advice that the first tremor had been horizontal, rather than vertical, and that a tsunami was unlikely.
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People in Banda Aceh run shortly after a powerfull earthquake hit western coast of Sumatra, prompting an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert. Photo: AFP
Southeast Asian nations had earlier issued tsunami alerts and urged people to move to safety away from coastlines after a massive 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra.
Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Malaysia issued evacuation instructions as US monitors issued an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami watch after the quake, which according to the USGS struck off the coast of Sumatra at 2.38pm (6.38 AEST) at a depth of 22 kilometres.
USGS had initially reported it as an 8.9-magnitude quake.
Panic ... Acehnese women hug each other and pray shortly after the earthquake struck. Photo: AFP
German experts who helped install the tsunami warning system off Indonesia said today's quake was horizontal, rather than vertical, making a big tsunami less likely.
"There wasn't much vertical movement," said Rainer Kind, of the German Geo-Research Centre (GFZ), which helped to install the system after a 2004 tsunami killed thousands in the same area.
Based on data from the system, "it's very likely that it generated a tsunami," Kind said from the GFZ headquarters at Potsdam near Berlin.
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Indonesia Quake
Acehnese people run shortly after a powerfull earthquake hit western coast of Sumatera in Banda Aceh on April 11, 2012. Photo: AFP
But the size of the wave was "very difficult to predict, because we don't know the topography of the seabed", he said.
Larger tsunamis are usually created by quakes with vertical movement, or by landslides into the sea.
An analyst at Indonesia's Geophysics and Meteorology agency said five of the nation's provinces - Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Bengkulu and Lampung - were at potential risk.
View Indian Ocean earthquake in a larger map
Sri Lanka and India issued tsunami warnings while Thailand urged people on the Andaman coast, a popular tourist destination, to move to safety. Malaysia ordered a coastal evacuation.
A Sri Lanka government statement said potential waves could hit the island's eastern coast by about 8.40 AEST and urged an orderly evacuation of the coastal strip.
"There is a strong possibility of a tsunami hitting the island after the earthquake in Indonesia," meteorological department deputy director M. D. Dayananda said.
He said the quake in Indonesia was felt in Sri Lanka, which is 1,340 kilometres north-west of the quake epicentre.
India issued a tsunami warning for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located in the Indian Ocean.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service issued a red high-level warning for the islands, and also put out lower alerts for the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states in the south-east of the country.
Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre advised people in the area to move to higher places and stay as far away as possible from the sea. The quake swayed buildings in the capital Bangkok.
Australian Bonnie Muddle, vacationing on the Thai resort island of Phuket at the time of the quake, said people were being evacuated from popular tourist areas including Krabi and Phang Nga Bay.
"Everyone is getting a little concerned over here," she said.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said that there was no risk of a tsunami affecting Japanese coasts.
Geoscience Australia, Canberra's geohazards agency, said there was no risk to Australia from the jolt. Taiwan and New Zealand also said the earthquake posed no threat to them.
AFP
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Will we get to celebrate Hari Raya etc... this year? That is the question no-one can answer.
So is the UMNO government still wanting to suck us dry or do something more important that money cannot buy. Lives have to be saved. But no-one is interested to prepare the people for the big wave.
Malaysia is not safe. No matter what those Feng Shui experts have predicted we will be hit big time.
Now how many of you are prepare for 21st December 2012?
Do your preparation immediately.
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