Indonesia calls off tsunami warning
Posted: 12 September 2007 2148 hrs

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JAKARTA : The Indonesian meteorology agency said Wednesday that there was no longer any threat of a damaging tsunami following a massive earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra.

"The tsunami warning is called off," the agency said in a text message.

The massive 8.2-magnitude earthquake toppled buildings and briefly triggered a tsunami alert across the Indian Ocean region.

One person was killed and dozens injured in the major earthquake, an official said.

"At least one person died when he was hit by a falling tree when they were evacuating after the quake," Salamun Haris, an official from North Bengkulu district, told ElShinta radio.

"Dozens of people were injured in damaged buildings" across the district, he said, adding that hospital patients in the city of Argamakmur were being evacuated as a precaution to make room for quake casualties.

Earlier, there were reports of buildings toppled or cracked open from the force of the quake around 300 kilometres (185 miles) from the epicentre.

In the capital Jakarta 600 kilometres further south, high-rise towers wobbled, water sloshed from swimming pools and panicked office workers ran into the streets.

Elsewhere, power was knocked out and phone lines went dead.

The huge quake - anything over magnitude 7.0 is considered to have the possibility for massive damage and loss of life - was felt in neighbouring Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, where office buildings swayed and shook. - AFP/ch