An 8.9 -magnitude earthquake was reported by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center off the coast of northern Indonesia at 15:55 Thai time on Wednesday.
Reports from residents in Phuket confirmed they had felt a tremor and had warned their neighbors to get outdoors immediately. The tremor was also felt in India and Singapore, BBC reported.
The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred 20 miles beneath the Indian Ocean floor, with its epicenter very close to that which devastated the region on Dec. 26, 2004.
By 16:35 Thai time, a spokesperson from the US Geological Survey, speaking on BBC, said that this earthquake was caused by a horizontal clash in plates, as opposed to a vertical clash which is much more likely to cause a tsunami.
Thailand, Burma and many other countries in Asia and the Pacific have announced tsunami warnings.