Earthquake felt across India, Singapore &Thailand

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, April 11 (Reuters & PTI): Indonesia issued a tsunami warning after a huge 8.9 magnitude earthquake off its westernmost province Aceh, leading panicked locals to scramble out of their houses to seek refuge.        The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said an Indian Ocean wide tsunami alert was in effect, after a quake that the U.S Geological Survey said was 308 miles southwest of the province's capital Banda Aceh. Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity. The quake was felt as far away as Singapore, Thailand and India.        The province was devastated by a 2004 tsunami that left 170,000 dead or missing, and that in total killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean nations. India issued a tsunami warning for its eastern coast on Wednesday after quake shook major Indian cities, causing panic and sending people fleeing onto the streets.        India's tsunami warning center said waves measuring up to 6 metres were expected along parts of its eastern coast, which was heavily hit by the 2004 tsunami. Smaller waves were expected to hit the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands.