This is just breaking, but at 16:09 UTC (22:09 Sri Lanka) there was an 8.2 8.5 Earthquake in Northern Sumatra. This is as reported by the US Geological Survey. Last time there was about 1.5 hours between quake and the first wave breaking on Kalmunai. It is now 23:05, so if there was a wave it would hit in about 30 minutes. There’s nothing on the local media, but BBC seems to be covering it. This was a 3 minute quake, as opposed to the 8 minute quake last time.

From the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:

WARNING… THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI IN THE OCEAN OR SEAS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE. AUTHORITIES IN THOSE REGIONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THIS ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE EVACUATION OF COASTS WITHIN A THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER AND CLOSE MONITORING TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR EVACUATION FURTHER AWAY.

Again, I am not sure if this is serious and their ALL CAPS are justified, but here is the timeline from last time, just to be aware. Click on the image below to advance to the next slide.

Posted on Monday, March 28th, 2005 in Sri Lanka.