Geological agency rescinds tsunami warning issued following 7.3 magnitude earthquake off Aceh coast

Indonesia has lifted a tsunami warning issued on Wednesday after a powerful earthquake struck off northern Sumatra.

The US Geological Survey said Tuesday’s quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck 420km off the coast of Aceh province. It was centred 30km beneath the ocean floor.

Arief Akhir, an official with Indonesia’s geological agency, said a tsunami warning has been issued.

Local people in Banda Aceh ran away in panic from buildings after news of the tsunami warning and the quake. No major damage in the provincial capital was seen, witnesses said.

Another witness at the beach in Aceh said the sea level had decreased following the quake.

Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

A giant quake off the country on December 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Aceh

 

Peringatan Bahaya Tsunami Berakhir

Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) menyatakan bahwa peringatan bahaya tsunami telah berakhir pascagempa berkekuatan 7,1 skala Richter (sebelumnya BMKG menyebut 7,6 SR) yang terjadi di wilayah Simelue, Aceh, Rabu (11/1/2012) pukul 01.36 WIB.

Seperti diberitakan, gempa terjadi di koordinat 2,32 LU 92,82 BT. Pusat gempa berada di kedalaman 10 kilometer. BMKG menyebut gempa berpotensi tsunami di wilayah Aceh, Sumatera Utara, Sumatera Barat, Bengkulu, dan Lampung.

Akibat guncangan gempa tersebut, warga di pesisir pantai Banda Aceh berhamburan ke luar rumah. Mereka memperoleh informasi dari media televisi dan radio.

Dengan berakhirnya peringatan bahaya tsunami tersebut, warga diharapkan bisa kembali ke rumah.

This post was submitted by Al Jazeera /I Made Asdhiana / Kps.