Indonesians told to stay alert after magnitude 7.3 earthquake in western Sumatra
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- 25 Apr 2023
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Indonesian authorities urged caution on Tuesday as residents returned gradually to their homes in western Sumatra after being rattled by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake and several aftershocks.
The earthquake, which took place out at sea at about 3 a.m. local time, triggered a tsunami warning that was lifted two hours later. There were no reports of casualties.
Residents in Padang, a city on the west coast of Sumatra, said they had panicked as tsunami warning sirens wailed and forced evacuation to higher ground in the middle of the night.
"We just ran because we heard there was a tsunami. I just brought my family, we didn't bring anything else," Hendra, a Padang resident who goes by one name, said while in an evacuation zone.
Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes because it straddles the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone where different plates of the earth's crust meet.
The national disaster mitigation agency urged residents to stay alert and ensure that home exits remained unblocked in case people needed to rush outside again.
"Especially for people living in coastal areas, if there is an earthquake that lasts more than 30 seconds, please immediately go to a higher place to anticipate the possibility of a tsunami," it said in a statement. Read More…
