Al Ain/Abu Dhabi The UAE Foreign Ministry has urged Emirati citizens not to travel to Southeast Asian countries which issued a tsunami warning after a strong earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra Wednesday.

Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi, Under-secretary at the Foreign Ministry, said the ministry is following up through its diplomatic missions in the South East Asian countries on the present condition of Emirati citizens there.

He advised Emirati citizens to take caution and avoid travelling to Southeast Asian countries during this period except in case of emergency.

He also appealed to citizens to register in the Tawajudee service online through the ministry's portal when travelling abroad.

Meanwhile, the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) has said that the UAE has no threat of immediate tsunami as an initial warning was issued for most of the countries in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.

About one-metre high waves were reported on the Bengal coastline in India and some islands in the region.

UAE seismologists have, however, ruled out any threat to the UAE coastline saying that the quake was very deep and has failed to generate a large-scale tsunami. The region has, however, experienced a series of aftershocks and has been kept on high alert.