BANGKOK, Feb 20: Thailand’s disaster warning centre on Wednesday issued a tsunami alert for the resort isle of Phuket and five nearby provinces, following a 7.5-magnitude quake off Indonesia’s Sumatra island.

“We suspect there is a chance that a tsunami could occur, so we ask people to be on alert,” the warning centre said. If a tsunami did occur, it would reach Phuket at 5:08 pm (1008GMT), the centre said.—AFP