BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THERE is no imminent threat of a tsunami to the Sultanate, the Brunei Darussalam Meteorological Department said yesterday in response to a hoax message distributed to Bruneians through WhatsApp.

“The information stating that a ‘tsunami will affect (the) eastern coast of Sabah within 36 hours and the expected storm that will hit Sabah and Labuan and also Brunei Darussalam’ is unfounded,” the department said in its statement.

“To date, there has been no official tsunami warning issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

“In this regard, the public are advised not to propagate unverified information through social media which may cause restlessness and panic to the general public.”

The department under the Ministry of Communications said that it will closely monitor weather conditions and other related hazards, and shall issue appropriate warnings as and when necessary in accordance to departmental Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

For the latest weather update, the public can call the Duty Meteorological Forecaster at the Forecast Centre, Weather Services Division either through Weather Line 114 or telephone number 2345567, or through www.met.gov.bn.

The Brunei Times