African nations neighbouring the Indian Ocean on Wednesday warned of a possible tsunami after a huge earthquake struck off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, officials said.
Kenyan authorities advised residents along the coastal region to keep off the beaches and remain alert, warning that a tsunami was expected.
”An earthquake hit southern Sumatra, Asia, at 2.10pm [11.10am GMT]. A massive tsunami is expected to hit the Kenyan coast at 11.39pm [8.39pm GMT] tonight. This is when the tide is high,” government spokesperson Alfred Mutua said in a statement.
”The government is asking all people to evacuate from the beach areas. This is to be noted by all beach hotels and people residing next to the beach,” the statement added.
Neighbouring Tanzania’s meteorological agency also issued a warning urging residents living along the coastline and on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba to be vigilant.
”The earthquake has generated a tsunami. It is expected that the tsunami waves will hit Tanzania coastal areas as from 11.30pm [8.30pm GMT] tonight,” the agency said in a statement.
The government of Mauritius issued a tsunami issued the alert that was broadcast on radio stations, urging the tiny Indian Ocean island’s inhabitants to keep off beaches at night.
A response committee was formed and residents in some of the most exposed coastal regions were encouraged to gather in designated areas for the night.
The massive 8,4-magnitude earthquake struck off Sumatra island, toppling buildings. It triggered an Indonesian tsunami alert, which was rapidly called off.
Two people died and 11 were injured in the quake, an Indonesian government official said. The earthquake also caused extensive damage to buildings along Sumatra’s coast, according to Adam Malik of Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Office.
Some buildings in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, had collapsed, witnesses reported, while Metro TV said some buildings had caught fire.
Indonesia issued two tsunami warnings, one after the first quake, and the second after a smaller tremor a few hours later in the same area. However, the Indonesian warnings and most others in the region had been lifted by 4pm GMT on Wednesday. Several big aftershocks were reported in the area.
An official at Indonesia’s meteorological agency said gauges measured a wave surge of 1m after the first quake.
Indonesia has endured repeated major quakes in recent years, including the 2004 quake that unleashed a tsunami across the Indian Ocean. It killed more than 220 000 people in a dozen countries, including about 168 000 in the Indonesian province of Aceh alone.
That tsunami killed about 300 people in Somalia and caused damage in Africa’s Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles and Mauritius. It also hit the coasts of Kenya and Tanzania. — Sapa-AFP, Reuters