Indonesians have been asked to stay alert after the 7.3-magnitude earthquake

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PADANG, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesian authorities on Tuesday urged caution as residents gradually returned to their homes in West Sumatra after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks shook them.

The earthquake, which occurred in the sea around 3 am, triggered a tsunami warning which was lifted two hours later. There were no reports of injuries.

Residents of Padang, a city on the west coast of Sumatra, said they panicked when tsunami sirens sounded and forced evacuations to higher ground in the middle of the night.

“We only ran because we heard there was a tsunami. I just brought my family, we didn’t bring anything else,” said Hendra, a Padang resident who remembers one name, while in the evacuation zone.

Indonesia is subject to frequent earthquakes because it lies along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active area where different plates of the Earth’s crust meet.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency urged residents to remain alert and ensure that exits from homes remain blocked in case people need to go out again.

“Especially for people living in coastal areas, if an earthquake occurs that lasts more than 30 seconds, please immediately go to a higher place to anticipate the possibility of a tsunami,” it said in a statement.

The agency said power outages occurred in some parts of the Mentawai Islands closest to the epicenter.

She added that several aftershocks were recorded, and a tide gauge on Tana Bala Island off the coast of West Sumatra recorded an 11 cm rise in the water level after the main earthquake.

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Padang, West Sumatra province in 2009, killing more than 1,100 people, injuring many, and causing widespread destruction.

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