Quake strikes off Indonesia

Wed, 04/11/2012 - 17:24 — Anonymous by CNNGo staffTravelers in and near
Indonesia's Sumatra island, India's east coast, Sri Lanka, Thailand and
other areas in Southeast Asia facing the Indian Ocean are being urged to be
on alert after an 8.6-magnitude earthquake struck 430 kilometers off the west
coast of northern Sumatra. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a
tsunami warning for "all areas of the Indian Ocean." The PTWC went on to
say, "Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread
destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean
basin … However -- it is not known that a tsunami was generated." Shortly
after the quake hit, the United States Embassy in Bangkok issued the
following emergency message to its citizens: "An 8.5 to 8.9 magnitude
earthquake has occurred off the coast of Sumatra and sparked tsunami warnings
along the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand including the provinces of Phangnga,
Phuket, Krabi, Trang, and Ranong.  Please follow safety instructions from
local authorities." For more information see CNN's story "Big quake
strikes off coast of Indonesia."read more