Malaysia has found 139 graves, and signs of torture, in more than two dozen squalid human trafficking camps suspected to have been used by gangs smuggling migrants across the border with Thailand, the country’s police chief said.

In nations around the Indian Ocean, thousands scrambled for higher ground after powerful quakes triggered fears of a disaster in a region all too familiar with the power of a tsunami.

Malaysian authorities issued a false tsunami warning today but quickly withdrew it and blamed the blunder on a technical glitch.