The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore. A tsunami watch means there is the potential for a tsunami, not that one is imminent. A 9.1 magnitude earthquake that struck in the region on 26 December 2004 killed some 230,000 people around the Indian Ocean, with nearly three-quarters of them living in Aceh.