Western Sumatra Quakes Produce Little Damage in Indonesia.

(Dive Travel Business News - April 11, 2012) -- Communities and resorts located along the Indian Ocean Rim breathed a collective sigh of relief earlier on April 11 when tsunami alerts were called off after a pair of deep-sea earthquakes off the coast of Indonesia. Those earthquakes, which had magnitudes 8.6 and 8.2, respectively, produced only scattered small tsunamis, according to AccuWeather.com.

The earthquakes were centered off the northern end of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, about 120 miles from the epicenter of the 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed some 230,000 people in the region, mostly in Sumatra, in 2004. When the quakes hit this time, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre was activated and there were reports of panicked crowds in the region moving to higher ground. Those fears also were fueled by the March 2011 Japan quake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe.

According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association, an urgent tsunami watch has been issued for coastal regions in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, Maldives, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Madagascar, Iran, UAE, Yemen, Comores, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, South Africa, Singapore. Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand all lifted or downgraded their tsunami alerts. Tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok in Thailand and Chennai in India.

Image: Courtesy NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre

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