Tsunami WARNING 'Lifted' After `EARTHQUAKE Off Indonesia !!!

by **J The Kidd** Sun Nov 16, 2008 7:07 pm

A powerful earthquake early Monday in Indonesia led briefly to fears of a possible tsunami, but officials soon lifted a warning, and there were no reports of casualties or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.5-magnitude quake was centered 85 miles (135 kilometers) northwest of Gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia and 190 miles west of Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia. It was 1170 miles east-northeast of Jakarta and occurred at 1:02 a.m. local time Monday.

In December 2004, a massive 9.0 earthquake, the most powerful in more than 40 years, triggered a massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean that obliterated whole towns. The tsunami killed 230,000 people -- 131,000 of them in Indonesia's Aceh province alone, according to the Associated Press.

Indonesia's National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said there were no immediate reports of a tsunami.

Local TV reports in Gorontalo said panicked residents were outside their homes, though there were no reports of casualties or damage.

An official with the National Disaster Coordinating Agency said residents of Buol, Central Sulawesi, were being evacuated after reports of sea water receding from the shoreline, which can be a sign that a tsunami is on the way. But the official emphasized that there were no reports that a tsunami was coming.