UPDATE: INDIAN OCEAN QUAKE UPGRADED TO 8.7...
'100 percent' chance of tsunami: Says US seismologist
Small tidal surge measured off Australia
Lasted up to 3 minutes... same location as Dec 26... felt in Singapore, Malaysia
Dozens Reported Dead in Indonesia...
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A massive earthquake killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes in the main town on Indonesia's Nias island Monday evening, a local government official told Metro TV.
"I can guarantee that dozens have died," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of Gunungsitoli town, said.
The massive 8.2 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Sumatra Monday close to where a quake triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across Asia, residents and officials said.
The latest quake had the potential to cause a "widely destructive tsunami" and authorities should take "immediate action," including evacuating coastlines within 600 miles of the epicenter, the Pacific tsunami warning center said.
One official said any possible tsunami could be headed toward the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
Indonesia's Metro TV quoted a resident on the island of Nias, off western Sumatra, as saying buildings there were damaged.
"Things are quite bad right now," the resident said. "There is much damage. People are running in panic. Many people are also trapped."
He did not elaborate on what he meant by people were "trapped."
Tens of thousands of people across northern and western Sumatra fled their homes and drove or ran to higher ground, TV and residents said.
Thailand urged people living along parts of its west coast, including tourists on the resort island of Phuket, to evacuate while Malaysia issued a warning to coastal residents.
"About 3,000 to 4,000 tourists and locals have been evacuated from Patong and Kamala beaches to higher places," Phuket deputy governor Wichai Buapradit told Reuters.
"We've told them to take their valuable belongings and to go to higher places," he added.
Authorities in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, north of the epicenter, issued a preliminary tsunami warning as did the federal government in New Delhi. Sirens were ringing in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Trincomalee and many coastal areas were evacuated, residents said.
NO REPORTS OF TSUNAMI
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