Indonesia: Tsunami warning now lifted

Banda Aceh - There was a tsunami warning prompted by the 8.6 earthquake and 6.5 aftershock in Indonesia earlier today. The good news is that the warning has now been lifted.

Digital Journal reported earlier that an earthquake which registered at 8.6 on the Richter scale, following by a 6.5 aftershock had prompted a tsunami warning in Indonesia. The tsunami watch status has now been lifted in Indian Ocean countries. The worst impact was likely to be on Simeulue Island, which is off southern Sumatra, according to Indonesia's disaster agency. A witness told Reuters that the island, which is near the epicenter of the Aceh earthquake had sea levels receding by about 10 metres. The BBC reports that once the warning was lifted, many people were crying, while others screamed “God is great.” Residents on the western coast of Sumatra and nearly Mentawai islands were advised to keep away from the coast due to the threat of a tsunami. However, geophysicists say that the earthquake was a "strike-slip". This means that the earth moved horizontally rather than vertically and such quakes do not usually displace a large volume of water. The people of Banda Aceh will be happy to be home tonight.