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Tsunami warning as powerful quake hits southwest Indonesia

A powerful earthquake struck off the southern coast of Indonesia's heavily populated Java island Friday, the country's disaster agency said, warning that it could generate a tsunami.

Reuters WORLD
Published August 02,2019
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Residents stand outside in the street after a strong earthquake hit the area around Jakarta on August 2, 2019 (AFP Photo)

Indonesian authorities on Friday urged people living near the coast to move to higher ground, after issuing a tsunami warning in the wake of a magnitude 7 earthquake off the islands of Sumatra and Java.

The Indonesian geophysics agency issued a tsunami warning after the quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said had a magnitude of 7 and hit at a depth of 59 km (37 miles), about 227 km (141 miles) from the city of Teluk Betung in Banten province on the island of Java.

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said on its Twitter feed that residents on the Banten coast should "immediately evacuate to higher ground".

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but strong tremors were felt in Jakarta, the capital, prompting people to run out of office buildings.