UPDATE: (8.35 p.m.) - Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Center (DMC) confirmed that there is no tsunami threat to Sri Lanka due to the earthquake which struck off the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java on Friday.

“No tsunami threat to Sri Lanka. The coastal areas in Sri Lanka are declared as safe. Public further informed that the earthquake alert will be cancelled,” the DMC said.

The powerful earthquake had triggered a two-hour tsunami warning in Indonesia which has now been lifted.

The U.S Geological Survey put the epicenter in the Indian Ocean about 227 km (141 miles) from Teluk Betung city on Sumatra with an initial magnitude of 7 that was later lowered to 6.8.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) in Indonesia later lifted the warning. 

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.

(Reuters)

-Agencies