Tsunami Warning Issued After Major 7.0 Magnitude Earthquake Near Bali

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A tsunami warning has been issued after a powerful earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Bali.

A number of tourists holidaying on the island took to social media after they felt a powerful earthquake, including celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen.

The wife of American singer, John Legend, who’s there with her husband and two children, posted a number of tweets, where she expressed her fear at what was going on.

In her first tweet she wrote:

Bali. Trembling. So long.

Which was followed up with:

Oh man. We are on stilts. It felt like a ride. 15 solid seconds of ‘hooooooly sh*t this is happening’

She then worryingly wrote:

im either still trembling or these little quakes won’t stop IM TRYING TO BE NORMAL HERE [sic]

According to news.com.au, the earthquake was between 6.8 and 7 in magnitude, occurring in the Sumbawa region of Indonesia.

The US Geological Survey said the second quake occurred just a week after a previous quake killed 17 people in Lombok.

They also added how the most recent quake struck just 10 kilometres underground, which triggered the tsunami warning.

As a result, officials are now urging people to move away from the ocean, with Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the agency for meteorology, climatology and geophysics, telling local TV:

Please go to a place with higher ground, while remaining calm and not panicking.

The Australian actor and model, Teresa Palmer, who starred in Hacksaw Ridge, is also currently in Bali, staying in a treehouse near Ubud.

She tweeted to say:

Woah! Anyone else feel that earthquake in Bali? Hope everyone is okay. Staying in a treehouse and we were SWAYING.

She then added:

Holy crap!! Stay safe everyone. Never felt anything so strong before, very scary #earthquake #bali

According to the Independent, Michelle Lindsay, an Australian tourist, said:

All the hotel guests were running so I did too. People filled the streets. A lot of officials were urging people not to panic.

Other witnesses have stated the quake got stronger over a period of several seconds and rattled windows and doors.

At the time of writing, (August 5), there have been no immediate reports of casualties, but authorities said the quake might have caused some damage.

According to a number of tweets, the Red Cross, and other groups trying to help, are on the ground and have been assisting people with evacuating the area.

The Asia Pacific Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies tweeted to say:

A second earthquake struck #Lombok earlier this evening, a week after the first one hit.

A tsunami warning has been issued. @palangmerah teams are on the ground helping with evacuation efforts.

UPDATE (August 5, 15:00 BST):

According to ABC 11 news, it’s now being reported the tsunami warning has been lifted.

Karnawati is said to have told MetroTV the warning was for the lowest level of tsunami, and small waves – just 15 centimetres (6 inches) high – were detected in three villages.

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Indonesia is an area prone to earthquakes, due to its location on the ‘Ring of Fire’ – an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean.

In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the island of Sumatra, triggered a tsunami which killed over 200,000 people in a dozen countries.

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