Thailand warned of a tsunami after an earthquake in Indonesia

Immediately after the earthquake in Indonesia, the Thai disaster warning center issued a tsunami warning on Phuket Island and five neighboring provinces.

Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center recommends: "We suspect that tsunamis can happen, so we recommend people to be cautious." However, an official at the weather forecast agency in Thailand said, this is only a warning about the possibility of tsunamis, there has been no evacuation notice so far.

Meanwhile, a tourist at Patong Beach, Phuket said, there is no emergency alert on the beach and the current situation in Phuket is normal.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred near Aceh province at 15h08 (local time) yesterday (February 20) centered on the coast of Sumatra. 319 km. The earthquake center is very close to the earthquake that caused the tsunami in 2004, killing 130,000 people.

According to local people, the earthquake lasted for nearly a minute. People in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, also felt strong tremors. Everyone left the office when the buildings began to shake. At Simeulue, the area where the earthquake occurred, at least 3 people died and 25 seriously injured, many buildings were damaged, the phone line was interrupted.

Immediately after the earthquake, there was a strong magnitude 5.5.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has issued a positive message, there is no danger of a " massive devastating tsunami " , but a local tsunami can affect the area. coastline in a radius of 100 km.

An AFP reporter in Banda Aceh described, the earthquake lasted about two minutes, people initially ran out in a panic, but quickly calmed down. Radio Elshinta also quoted witnesses as saying that people in Medan, the northern Sumatra capital, were also frightened, and rushed out of the buildings.

According to meteorological agencies Malaysia, the west coast region and northeastern Kelantan state were also shaken. A witness in Penang's resort island said the tremor lasted about a minute.