Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Indonesia earthquake: Tsunami warnings for Sumatra and Australian islands after powerful 7.9 magnitude off coast - live updates

There were no immediate reports of casualties or severe damage

Lizzie Dearden,Adam Withnall,Samuel Osborne
Wednesday 02 March 2016 14:22 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A powerful 7.9 magnitude has struck off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami warning. Here are the latest updates

  • The epicentre was 502 miles southwest of Padang and six miles deep - USGS 
  • Indonesia issued a tsunami warning for West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh
  • A tsunami warning for mainland Australia was issued but later cancelled, although an alert for Cocos Islands and Christmas Island remained

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but the shallower a quake, the more likely it is to cause damage. USGS originally put the magnitude at 8.2, and then 8.1, before lowering it to 7.9.

Indonesia, badly hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, straddles the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active zone where different plates on the earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Additional reporting by AP

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in