Kochi : A strong earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter Scale has struck under the sea off Indonesia’s northern Aceh province.

The quake triggered a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean region. There are no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

The Indonesian earthquake agency later lowered the intensity of the quake to 8.5. BBC quoting Reuter news agency says that quake also hit Singapore and Thailand.

Indonesia issues tsunami warning after 8.9 quake

Indonesia has issued a tsunami warning after a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.9 hit waters off westernmost Aceh province.

The US Geological Survey said on Tuesday the quake was centred 33 kilometres beneath the ocean floor around 495 kilometres from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

Said, an official at Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency who goes by only one name, said a tsunami warning has been issued.

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.

A giant 9.1-magnitude quake off the country on 26th December 2004, triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people, nearly three quarter of them in Aceh.

No Tsunami threat for India

The quake triggered a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean region. There are no immediate reports of any damage or casualties. The Indonesian earthquake agency later lowered the intensity of the quake to 8.5. The quake hit Singapore and Thailand. Mild tremors were felt in different parts of Bangladesh.

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information reports that there is no Tsunami threat for India.

Reports say that an alert has been sounded in the coastal areas of the country as a precaution.