Powerful earthquake recorded in Indonesia

A powerful and shallow 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to US Geological Survey.

The epicentre was 502 miles southwest of Padang and it was 10 km deep. Up to now, there were no reports of damage or casualties.

Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning for the regions of West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh.

Australia also issued a tsunami warning for Cocos Island and Christmas Island, in the Pacific and put a watch in place for the western Australian coast, including the city of Perth, as BBC reports.

Although, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said evacuations were not required on the islands, it advised people to “get out of the water and move away from the immediate water’s edge”, because of the risk of dangerous waves and currents.

According to AFP, the earthquake was felt strongly in Padang for a few seconds, while people terrified started running out of their homes to higher ground.