A tsunami warning is in all of Southeast Asia, after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The first quake occurred at 14.38 local time (10.38 in Italy) in waters 434 km southwest of Banda Aceh. A second one, of magnitude 6.5, was recorded shortly after. The tsunami warning was immediately raised by the Pacific warning centre. The earthquake was also felt very strongly in Singapore, Thailand and the southern part of India, countries which, together with Indonesia and Sri Lanka, have launched the tsunami warning.
Meanwhile, the consequences of the earthquake are spreading. In Thailand, the airport of Phuket has been closed, the island a destination for international tourism and one of the six southern provinces for which the order to evacuate the coastal areas has been given. Tsunami alarm also in Malaysia, where the evacuation of coastal areas has been ordered.
