An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia on Wednesday, sending residents around the region dashing out of their homes and offices in fear.
In India, the tremors were reportedly felt in Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Guwahati and several other cities on the eastern coast. Office workers in Bangalore left their buildings, workers in Bangalore told Reuters.
On the beaches at Chennai, policemen used megaphones to ask people to leave.
On the beaches at Chennai, policemen used megaphones to ask people to leave. Offices in Bhubaneshwar, Bangalore and kolkata were asked to be evacuated. The Tsunami centre in Hyderabad also issued notice for evacuation of beaches. In Kolkata, the metro stations were shut as a safety measure.
A tsunami watch was issued for the whole Indian Ocean. The quake struck 308 miles (500 km) southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km), the US Geological survey said.
Indonesia’s disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger.
“The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere,” said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.
The quake was in roughly in the same area as a Dec 26, 2004, quake of 9.1 magnitude, which sent huge tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed, and across the Indian Ocean.
In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
The quake was also felt in Sri Lanka, where office workers in the capital, Colombo, fled their offices, and the southern Thai holiday island of Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.
In Bangladesh, where two tremors were felt, authorities have said there appears to be no threat of a tsunami.
—-Agencies