Indonesia braces for possible tsunami after 6.9 earthquake hits off Java's coast

(Image credit: Screenshot/Courtesy Google Maps)

published 2 August 2019

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Friday off Indonesia's coast, prompting tsunami warnings and a call for residents to seek higher land.

The earthquake struck near the tips of the country's Sumatra and Java meet, in the Sunda Strait about 240 miles from Jakarta, per the U.S. Geological Survey. Buildings swayed in the capital city, and there were a few blackouts, but no injuries or major damages have so far been reported.

When the quake arrived in Jakarta around 7 p.m. local time, video footage showed people running out of buildings, and citizens reported that their furniture was shaking too, BBC reports. But there's more of a worry down in the Banten coastal area, where officials warned residents to "Immediately evacuate to a higher place." Indonesia's location along a major fault line means it frequently experiences earthquakes, and tsunami warnings often follow when they're strong enough.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.