An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 Richter Scale hit waters off westernmost Aceh province, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Indonesia has issued Tsunami warning following the tremor, which is the largest in 100 years.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has issued a tsunami alert to 28 countries including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands.
The US Geological Survey said that the quake struck 308 miles (500 km) southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra Island, at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km).
Indonesia's disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger.
"The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," Reuters quoted Sutopo, spokesman for the agency, as saying.
The tremor was felt in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh and India.
(With inputs from Reuters)
