KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued a tsunami alert after a powerful earthquake struck off Sumatra, Indonesia at 7.10pm.
The department has advised people in the northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Penang to move away from beaches as a safety precaution.
Tremors were felt in parts of the west coast of peninsular Malaysia when the quake struck.
It was centered at 105 km southwest of Bengkulu, Sumatra and 718km southwest of Johor Bahru, at a depth of 15.6km.
Malaysian is adequately equipped to detect a tsunami and issue a warning within an hour before it reaches the shore.
The system is based on two buoys - one in the Andaman Sea near Rondo Island in Indonesia and the other in the South China Sea near Pulau Layang-layang in Sabah.
Malaysians will receive notice of evacuation via television, radio, satellite broadcast and SMS within 15 minutes of data transmission from the buoys.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had earlier issued a tsunami alert for the entire Indian Ocean region after the quake.
Source : The STAR
NEWS CONFIRMED : Tsunami warning issued after 7.9 magnitude quake off Sumatra
5:34 AM
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