NEW DELHI (AFP) — India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives issued tsunami alerts after a massive earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, officials said.

Thousands died across the region when a December 2004 tsunami struck following a powerful quake off Sumatra.

"We are issuing the alert after the quake in Indonesia," a Sri Lankan meteorology department spokesman said, adding that Sri Lanka could be affected following Wednesday's 7.9-magnitude quake.

The island nation's coastlines were devastated in 2004, with 31,000 killed and one million people left homeless.

"Those living close to the coastline in the northern, southern and southwestern coasts of Sri Lanka are hereby warned to stay away from the coastline and move to safer areas," a statement from the meterological department said.

Officials in Sri Lanka said the alert was also sounded for the nearby Maldives, which was badly hit by the last tsunami.

India's home ministry warned residents of the Andaman and Nicobar island chain, closer to Indonesia than the Indian mainland, as well as those on India's southeast coast to take precautions.

"For the Andaman and Nicobar islands, yes, we have issued an alert. The (eastern) coastal states have also been alerted, but it's a precautionary measure," a ministry spokesman said.

India lost more than 16,000 people in the tsunami, which killed a total of around 220,000 people and left material damage estimated by the United Nations at 2.5 billion dollars.

Courtesy: AFP

Published in : The News, National News

Keywords : Maldives News, National News, Tsunami alerts sounded in India, Sri Lanka, Maldives

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