Latest Celebrity News | Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News

A tsunami alert has been issued after an earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The 7-point-7 magnitude quake was centred over a hundred miles off the island.

Aftershocks have been felt â€" but there are no reports so far of any casualties.

Malaysia lifts tsunami alert

The Malaysian Meteorological Department has lifted a tsunami alert it issued for its three coastal areas after an earthquake struck North Sumatra in Indonesia early Wednesday.

The alert was lifted because only a small tsunami had occurred in Sumatra following the quake, it said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The earthquake hit Sumatra, 450 km southwest of Malaysia’s Pangkor Island with tremors felt in west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

The Met department had earlier issued a tsunami alert in Perlis, Penang and Kedah and warned people to keep away from the beach.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 3.45 am IST and was centred around 200 km northwest of Sibolga in Sumatra at a depth of 50 km. A tsunami warning issued by the Indonesia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency was lifted two hours later.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu also issued a tsunami watch. The centre said no tsunami threat existed for other coastal areas in the Indian Ocean, although some areas could experience small sea level changes and strong or unusual coastal currents, Star online said.

Fauzi, an official at the meteorology agency’s Jakarta office said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but officials were monitoring the situation.

Thailand cancels tsunami alert

Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) announced to cancel its previous tsunami alert, which was issued early Wednesday morning following a 7.2- magnitude earthquake in Indonesia's northern Sumatra.

The NDWC earlier warned people in several southern Andaman-Sea- coastal provinces, down from Satun province, to be ready to evacuate to a safe place, saying there was a high risk of a tsunami on the Andaman Coast.

The center said the southern Songkhla province and the city Hat Yai felt the earthquake, and they are closely monitoring the aftermath.

A major 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's northern Sumatra early Wednesday triggering a local tsunami watch.

Since the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Thailand has installed a high-tech warning system.