KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Meteorological Department has lifted the tsunami alert it had issued for coastal areas of Perlis, Penang and Kedah following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in North Sumatra on Wednesday.
In a statement Wednesday morning, it said that it lifted the alert because only a small tsunami had occurred in Sumatra following the quake.
The earthquake had hit North Sumatra, 448km southwest of Pangkor Island Wednesday morning. Tremors were felt in the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia.
The department had earlier warned people to keep away from the beach.
In GEORGE TOWN, state Meteorological Department director Loh Eng Kee said the tsunami alert was called off at 8.20am as Sumatra had only experienced a small tsunami.
“A tsunami alert was issued in Penang, Perlis and Kedah at 6.45am following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the sea of northern Sumatra.
“The National Security Council, police, the Chief Minister’s Office and the State Secretariat were informed of the situation.
“After monitoring sea conditions, our headquarters in Petaling Jaya issued a cancellation of the alert after only a small tsunami touched the coast of Sumatra,” Loh said.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was briefed on the tsunami alert at the department in Bayan Lepas at 8.45am, said the relevant departments responded swiftly to the alert.
“We are thankful that there was no tsunami,” he said.
Tremors due to the earthquake shook high-rise buildings on Penang island, including those on Macallum Street, Rifle Range and Sungai Ara causing fear among residents.
Meanwhile, all the 165 Malaysian students comprising 130 in the final year and the rest in years one, two and three at Universitas Islan Negeri ArRaniri, Aceh are safe, said Malaysian Students Department director Datuk Dr Junaidy Abu Bakar who is based at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta.
He said the students’ residence is 10km from the sea.
He added that the students have been directed to adhere to all directives by the local authorities to move if the need arose.
Presently, all students are attending lectures, he said.
The Associated Press quoted the US Geological Survey saying that the quake struck at 6.15am Malaysian time (2215 GMT) and was centred 205km northwest of Sibolga in Sumatra at a depth of 46km.
The Indonesia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning following the quake, but lifted it two hours later.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu also issued a tsunami watch. The centre said no tsunami threat existed for other coastal areas in the Indian Ocean, although some areas could experience small sea level changes and strong or unusual coastal currents.
Fauzi, an official at the meteorology agency’s Jakarta office, said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but officials were monitoring the situation.
Local media reports said the quake, which struck as people in the region were preparing for morning prayers, caused panic in North Sumatra’s capital of Medan and other cities in the province. Electricity supply was cut in Medan.
People in some cities along the southeastern coast of Sumatra as well as Sinabang on Simeulue island and Gunung Sitoli on nearby Nias island poured into the streets and rushed to higher ground, reports said.
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