Indonesia earthquake sparks tsunami warnings as tourists told to evacuate resorts after 7-magnitude tremor rocks Jakarta
A TSUNAMI warning has been issued after a magnitude-7 earthquake struck off Jakarta, Indonesia, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has confirmed.
Authorities have today urged people living near the Banten coast – an area popular with tourists – to evacuate “immediately” to higher ground on Java.
The strong earthquake has caused buildings to sway in Jakarta, after tremors hit the capital city.
The Indonesian geophysics agency issued a tsunami warning after the quake, which the USGS said had hit at a depth of 59 km (37 miles), about 227 km (141 miles) from the city of Teluk Betung on the island of Sumatra.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said on its Twitter feed that residents on the Banten coast should “immediately evacuate to higher ground”.
Radio Elshinta tweeted that people have started to move to safety from Banten, the westernmost province on the island of Java.
One concerned man replied to the tweet: “Be careful, don’t panic, keep yourself and the people around us safe.”
TSUNAMI WARNING
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but when strong tremors were felt in Jakarta, the capital, people dashed out of office buildings into streets.
Daeng Info in Indonesia said there was an “atmosphere of panic at Soekarno Hatta Airport” in Jakarta shortly after the 7-magnitude earthquake.
It added that some visitors to the city reported “feeling shaking through the floor” while shopping, “even though it didn’t last long”.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said on Twitter that the earthquake has the “potential” to create a 3m tsunami which would threaten Panaitan Island, in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, in the Indonesian province of Banten.
Panaitan Island has two main beaches – in the north and south of the island, where tourists dive or fish.
The agency urged people to evacuate if directed to by local officials.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami warning, watch or advisory after the quake. Indonesian authorities, however, issued their own.
Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said the local tsunami alert will remain in place.
She called on people living in coastal areas to move to higher ground but she also urged people not to panic.
Radio and television reports said people felt a strong quake in Banten province and in Lampung province along the southern part of Sumatra island.
The tremors caused a panic among residents in several cities and villages, said the Associated Press.