Tsunami warning in S. Thailand lifted

BANGKOK, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's National Warning Center Wednesday night lifted its Tsunami warning in six Andaman coastal provinces but would keep monitoring the situation around the clock, local media Komchadluek reported.

Gp. Cpt. Somsak Khaosuwan, director of the center, decided to lift the warning after the center found that Tsunami waves that reached southern province of Phang Nga were recorded at only 10 centimeters and 30 centimeters respectively.

The center director said that he was confident that the waves would not cause damage to the areas along the coast and allowed people to return home.

Tsunami warning was issued in six Andaman coastal provinces of Thailand -- Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun after the 8.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra at 3:38 p.m. local time Wednesday. However, the quake did not lead to disastrous damage and casualty.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PWTC) also canceled the Tsunami watch issued after quakes, one with a magnitude of 8.6, the other measuring 8.3, saying "the threat has diminished or is over for most areas."

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake which occurred with an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia killed around 230,000 to 250,000 in the region. In Thailand alone, over 6,000 people died, with half of them foreign tourists.