Nairobi - Kenya and Tanzania lifted tsunami warnings on Wednesday after it appeared unlikely that a massive wave would hit the East African coast following a powerful earthquake off Indonesia.
The 8.6-magnitude earthquake and a series of aftershocks struck off Indonesia but there seemed little risk of a disastrous tsunami as in 2004.
“We are removing the alert, we are cancelling it,” Ali Mafimbo, Senior Assistant Director at Kenya's Met office, told Reuters by phone.
Tanzania, after earlier saying it expected waves of up to 1.5m, also downgraded its warning.
“We have downgraded the warning after establishing that the earthquake has subsided at its source, therefore the expected waves might not hit our coastline after all,” acting Tanzania Meteorological Agency Director General Emmanuel Mpeta told state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation television.
As a precaution, Tanzanian authorities advised fishing boats and ships to remain at anchor until Thursday.
Some 164 people were killed and more than 2 300 were displaced in Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Somalia after the disastrous 2004 Asian tsunami. - Reuters