Jakarta: A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s western province of West Sumatra early Tuesday and was potential of triggering a tsunami, the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency said.
The earthquake happened at 03:00 a.m. Tuesday Jakarta Time (2000 GMT Monday), with the epicenter at 177 km northwest in Mentawai Islands district and a depth of 84 km under the seabed, Xinhua news agency reported.
A tsunami warning has been put in place by the agency, as the tremors of the quake have the potential of triggering giant waves.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said authorities were collecting data from the islands nearest the epicentre off the western shore of Sumatra, spokesperson Abdul Muhari told The Guardian.
In Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, the quake was felt strongly, and some people moved away from the beaches, said Abdul, who was in the local area.
Local news footage showed some Padang residents evacuating by motorbike and on foot to higher ground. Some carried backpacks while others huddled together under umbrellas against the rain.
“On the Siberut island, people had already been evacuated. They have been told to stay at the evacuation area until tsunami warning is lifted,” a local official told TvOne.
Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes because it straddles the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone where different plates of the earth’s crust meet.
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