Survivors of the tsunami that followed the magnitude 7.7 earthquake earlier this week off the Indonesian island of Sumatra did not receive any notification of the coming wall of water, and officials say the tsunami warning system had been vandalized, rendering it useless.

Hundreds of people died and many more are missing after a 10ft high wave leveled the Mentawai islands, destroying several villages. The Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology’s Ridwan Jamaluddin told the BBC that two coastal buoys near the Mentawai islands had been tampered with and were not working properly when the tsunami struck:

“We don’t say they are broken down but they were vandalised and the equipment is very expensive. It cost us five billion rupiah each (£353,000; $560,000).

A second official, speaking on behalf of the Indonesian Climatology Agency, said the buoys were instrumental in triggering the warning system to notify locals:

“To predict a tsunami, we need the data from the buoy and the tide gauge, which is located near the beach. The buoy is more important because it is on the sea, so it will record the wave much quicker that the tide gauge,” said the official, named Fauzi.

The early warning system has been in place for two years.

No warning came ahead of deadly Indonesian tsunami, system had been ‘vandalized’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

A tsunami warning has been issued after a strong earthquake hit off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The USGS says the quake, the epicenter of which was 20 miles off the coast of the island, had a magnitude of 7.5. The location is the same place where a massive earthquake and tsunami struck in 2004. According to the Wall Street Journal, an ensuing tsunami isn’t likely to cause widespread devastation if it occurs:

A tsunami watch advised that waves were possible within a few hundred miles of the epicenter. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said historical data suggest any wave it created wouldn’t be destructive.

The quake, which was felt in Bengkulu and West Sumatra, struck at approximately 9:42 local time. No casualties or significant damage has been reported due to the tremblor. The area is prone to seismic activity and volcanic activity due to its location “on the Pacific Ring of Fire.”

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Tsunami warning after 7.5 magnitude quake hits Indonesia is a post from: The Inquisitr

Thousands are missing, feared dead after an earthquake struck off the coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia Wednesday.

As we reported earlier, the 7.6 quake struck at 5:16pm local time and caused a tsunami alert for Indian ocean countries. There is no reports of a tsunami occurring, unlike the Somoan earthquake yesterday, however the size of the earthquake and its proximity to land has caused massive damage across Sumatra.

The town of Padang, West Sumatra, home to 900,000 people was closest to the quake epicenter, and reports from the scene note that there are widespread fires, and that possibly thousands of building have collapsed. Rescue efforts have been hampered by roads into the town being cut off by mudslides, and the airport in the city is closed to air traffic due to damage. There are also reports that at least some of the towns hospitals have been destroyed by the quake.

Indonesia’s health minister told local media that the death toll could end up being “higher than the Yogyakarta quake in 2006,” a quake that left over 5,000 people dead.

The official death toll stands at 75, although is expected to rapidly rise throughout the day.

Thousands missing, feared dead following Indonesian earthquake is a post from: The Inquisitr