Indonesia earthquake: Tsunami early warning lifted; hundreds evacuated as houses damaged

The Indonesian geophysics agency BMKG Indonesia has confirmed that a 7.4 magnitude earthquake has hit the country and also issued a tsunami warning. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake 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.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but several houses in coastal areas were damaged and strong tremors were felt in various parts of the country.

#Gempa Mag:7.4, 02-Aug-19 19:03:21 WIB, Lok:7.54 LS,104.58 BT (147 km BaratDaya SUMUR-BANTEN), Kedalaman:10 Km, Potensi tsunami utk dtrskn pd msyrkt #BMKG pic.twitter.com/IjXDhOzL98

— BMKG (@infoBMKG) August 2, 2019

There are reports that the earthquake was so strong that it was felt in parts of Bali as well.

#earthquake M6.9 offshore #Java #Indonesia #gempa 22 min ago was felt up to #Bali 1 100km away. BMKG released a #tsunami warning pic.twitter.com/BwQCKQ0E7Z

— EMSC (@LastQuake) August 2, 2019

Update 12: Tsunami early warning has been lifted.

Peringatan Dini TSUNAMI yang disebabkan oleh gempa Mag:7.4, 02-Agu-19 19:03:25 WIB, dinyatakan telah berakhir #BMKG

— BMKG (@infoBMKG) August 2, 2019

Update 11: Hundreds of people have been evacuated from some coastal areas and are being moved to safer places. Evacuation operations in many places are still being underway.

Update 10: Indonesia's geophysics agency said it would keep monitoring for the risk of a potential tsunami until at least 21:35 pm (1435 GMT) after a powerful earthquake struck off the islands of Sumatra and Java. Evacuation operations are still underway.

Update 9: Several houses were collapsed in the coastal areas but no injuries or casualties have been reported yet.

Update 8: It is being reported that water level in Cilegon Coast is still normal but residents are still being evacuated for safety as the tsunami warning is not withdrawn yet.

Update 7: Residents of Pelabuhan Ratu Beach are being evacuated due to tsunami risk. More evacuations to follow. Indonesian disaster agency tweeted a video of volunteers participating in Tangguh Village evacuation.

Video dari rekan-rekan relawan yang sedang mengikuti Ekspedisi Desa Tangguh Bencana. pic.twitter.com/QixzqyVqzS

— BNPB Indonesia (@BNPB_Indonesia) August 2, 2019

Update 6: People have moved out of their homes and offices and have camped key places. More information from the Indonesian government is awaited.

Update 5: The Minister of Communication and Information has urged residents not to spread misinformation in this sensitive situation.

Update 4: Moderate to heavy rains along with the possibility of strong winds is forecasted by BMKG. Bad weather can worsen the situation and also hamper the rescue operations in case of a tsunami.

Update 3: The tsunami alerts concerns Banten, Bengkulu, Jabar, Lampung but the estimated population in the area where the earthquake was felt is 90 million, according to EMSC.

Update 2: BMKG has tweeted a "warning" along with a link with the complete information but the link is inaccessible at the moment.

Peringatan dini cuaca wilayah Kalimantan Tengah [02 Agustus 2019] #BMKGSelengkapnya klik tautan berikut https://t.co/WdvzbXQ0Xn

— BMKG (@infoBMKG) August 2, 2019

Update 1: People are seen rushing out of buildings, according to visuals in live streams of local news channels. There are also reports of blackouts in several parts of the country.