Indonesia warns of Chile earthquake-triggered tsunami

Indonesia warned that it is facing a threat of tsunami caused by a powerful 8.2 magnitude earthquake which struck Chile Tuesday, killing at least five and displacing thousands others. At least 115 towns in 19 Indonesian districts will be affected by the tsunami, said the country''''s Tsunami Early Warning Center on Thursday. The Center, which monitors and analyzes tsunami movement in coordination with Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency, expected zero to half meter-high tsunami waves to hit the country today. The Indonesian government started evacuating citizens and called on people to stay off beaches, after the warnings were issued. Earlier today, neighboring Japan was hit by small tsunami waves of 20 centimeters, but the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of higher waves hitting the country later through the day. Indonesia is frequently hit by earthquakes and has a number of active volcanoes. The country is vulnerable to even small tsunamis with many people living in poor, coastal communities. Over 170,000 people were killed in Aceh province on western Sumatra Island in 2004 by a huge tsunami, which also killed thousands in nearby countries around the Indian Ocean