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Indonesia issues Tsunami warning after a powerful quake

January 10, 2012   ·   259380 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2Findonesia-issues-tsunami-warning-after-a-powerful-quake-25938Indonesia+issues+Tsunami+warning+after+a+powerful+quake2012-01-10+21%3A15%3A23Qalinle+Husseinhttp%3A%2F%2Fsomalilandpress.com%2F%3Fp%3D25938

INDONESIA has issued a tsunami warning after a powerful quake this morning off Aceh province.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck 420km off the coast of Aceh province about 2.37am local time (5.37am AEDT) today.

It was centered 30km beneath the ocean floor.

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

The warning has now been lifted, according to Reuters.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said: “There is a very small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a hundred kilometres from the earthquake epicentre.”

In Banda Aceh, the ground shook for 30 seconds and terrified residents rushed out of their homes, but they returned indoors shortly after, an AFP reporter there said.

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 Boxing Day in 2004 triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, half of them in Aceh.

Herald Sun (Australia)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

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By Qalinle Hussein

Tags: Banda Aceh, Earthquake, Indonesia, Tsunami