Indonesia quake felt in Singapore: 'Swaying went on for 10 sec'

The massive and shallow earthquake that struck last night off the Indonesian island of Sumatra was felt in some parts of Singapore.

Ms Shireen Lim, a Marine Parade resident who lives on the 24th storey, told The New Paper: "I was doing some work at my desk when it began to sway.

"I thought I was going to faint. The swaying went on for about 10 seconds.

"The ceiling fan was swaying, too."

Ms Lim said she felt nauseated after that.

Another Singaporean in her 40s said she felt her Sengkang flat swaying. She said: "My family went downstairs and I saw a couple of other families were there already."

The Meteorological Services said tremors were felt in certain parts of Singapore at about 8.55pm yesterday.

The police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force received several calls from the public reporting these tremors, the police said in a statement.

Advising the public to remain calm, the police said if they are inside a building and feel the tremors, they should take cover under a sturdy table or furniture and keep away from items made of glass or any hanging object.

ALERT: A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck south-west of Sumatra.PHOTO: SCREENSHOT/ USGS 

Meanwhile, Reuters said there were early reports of death in Indonesia.

ALERT CALLED OFF

A tsunami alert which was earlier issued was later called off, television reports said. Australia issued a tsunami watch for parts of its western coast, then cancelled it.

The deputy head of operations with Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, Mr Heronimus Guru, said: There are some who have died."

He did not know how many, but any rescue operation was hampered by the dark.

There were no immediate reports of damage, but the shallower a quake, the more dangerous it is.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) originally put the magnitude at 8.2, and then 8.1, before lowering it to 7.8.

The epicentre was 808km south-west of Padang, USGS said, and it was 10km deep.

"So far, there have been no reports (of damage)," Andi Eka Sakya, an official of the National Meteorological Agency, told TVOne.

"In Bengkulu (on the south-western coast of Sumatra), they didn't feel it at all."

A resident in North Sumatra said he did not feel the quake.

A resident of an island off the western coast of Sumatra told Metro TV: "I am at the beach currently looking to see any tsunami sign with my flashlight. There's nothing. A few minutes have passed, but nothing, but many people have already evacuated to higher places."

Kompas TV said patients at hospitals in Padang were being evacuated.

A TVOne reporter said Padang residents panicked and there were heavy traffic jams.

- Additional reporting by Chai Hung Yin.