A massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia that was felt as far away as Bangkok and Sri Lanka caused a few tense hours around Indian Ocean counties as a tsunami warning was called.
The 8.6 magnitude quake hit 431 kilometers (268 miles) off the city of Banda Aceh in Sumatra at 3:38PM Bangkok time followed by another undersea quake 8.2 quake, according to the US Geological Survey said. The earthquakes yesterday were similar in size and location to the 9.1 tremor in 2004 that caused the Boxing Day tsunami that killed over 220,000 people.
A tsunami warning was called for Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Rayong, Satun, and Trang provinces in southern Thailand, but canceled by director of the National Disaster Warning Centre Somsak Khaosuwan at 7:30pm,The Bangkok Post reported.
In Ao Nang, Krabi, tourists and locals crowded around the beach despite the efforts of local policemen to keep them away and hotels in the area issued warnings for tourists to find higher ground.
There were conflicting media reports of water receding in Phuket, but ultimately only a 10cm and 30cm wave hit Phang Nga province. Mass evacuations from the west coast of Phuket into nearby hills were captured in photos shared on social media, but ultimately the big wave never came.
Some people in highrises in Bangkok reported feeling the quake and its aftershocks.
Most experts believe that the earthquakes yesterday did not cause a tsunami because their movements were more horizontal than vertical.
“Although an earthquake of this magnitude has the potential to cause a large tsunami… we haven’t seen any drop of the sea floor, which is what generates the wave,” seismologist Susanne Sargeant told AFP.
