Indian Ocean Under Tsunami Warning over Massive Earthquake

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami watch for the entire Indian Ocean after a massive earthquake hit the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday.

The quake, which struck about 500 kilometers from Indonesia's Aceh province, had a magnitude of 8.7, according to the US Geological Survey. It took place at a depth of 33 kilometers, CNN informs.

The tsunami warning said quakes of such a magnitude "have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin".

Banda Aceh was devastated by a tsunami resulting from an earthquake in December 2004. Over 230,000 people in fourteen countries were killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.