Residents leave coastal areas as strong quake strikes eastern Indonesia

Residents living at coastal areas in Indonesia’s eastern
province of Maluku fled from the territory as a tsunami alert is in
place after a 7.9 magnitude quake hit the province earlier Tuesday,
an official and weather agency said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

“The residents in Maluku Barat Daya district have escaped from
coastal areas, because a tsunami is potential to occur there,” Eva
M.F. Tuhumury, a senior official of disaster management agency in
the province, told Xinhua via phone.

She said that the residents were asked to go to a higher ground
for their safety, the official said.

The country’s meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency
issued a tsunami warning for the province and a nearby province of
Southeast Sulawesi after the strong quake jolted the province.