Indonesia Earthquake: Thai provinces of Phuket, Phangnga issued Tsunami warning

A tsunami warning and evacuation order were issued by disaster prevention authorities in the southern Thai provinces of Phuket and Phangnga on Wednesday after a huge earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia.

"The province has turned on the warning sirens and asked people all over Phuket island to move to a safe place," an official from the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Centre told Reuters by telephone. An official from the warning centre Phangnga told Reuters: "We warn people in every district to evacuate immediately because there is a possibility of a tsunami." Phuket and Phangnga are provinces popular with tourists and were among those hit by the 2004 Indian Ocena tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people in Thailand.Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency on Wednesday reported a 6.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale following an 8.7 magnitude temblor off the coast of the country's Aceh province, triggering a tsunami watch for the whole Indian Ocean.