Indonesia Issues Tsunami Warning After Massive earthquake

JAKARTA: Indonesia has issued a tsunami warning after a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.9 hit waters off westernmost Aceh province.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday the quake was centered 20 miles (33 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor around 308 miles (495 kilometers) from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

Said, an official at Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency who goes by only one name, said a tsunami warning has been issued.

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.

A giant 9.1-magnitude quake off the country on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, nearly three quarter of them in Aceh. -- AP

Meanwhile, local TV in Indonesia reports that the quake last between 3-5 minutes in Banda Aceh, where electricity supply has been disrupted and traffic jams have started as residents head to higher ground.

Other footage shows residents seeking refuge at Baitul Rahman mosque in Banda Aceh soon after the quake struck.

As at 6.50pm, local TV reported four aftershocks in Banda Aceh.