New quake!
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 59,385
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From: La Crescenta, CA
Several Killed by Quake Off Sumatra; No Tsunami Yet
57 minutes ago
Add to My Yahoo! Top Stories - Reuters
By Dean Yates
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A massive 8.7 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's Sumatra island Monday and killed several people, perhaps dozens, but there were no immediate reports of a tsunami, residents and officials said.
The epicenter, off the coast, was very close to that of the Dec. 26 quake which triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across Asia.
Monday's late night earthquake spread panic across western Indonesia, Sri Lanka and coastal parts of Malaysia and Thailand, the areas devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami. Sirens wailed and tens of thousands of people were evacuated after tsunami warnings while others drove or ran from the coast to higher ground. There were no signs of a tsunami up to three and a half hours after the 1609 GMT quake, but it killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes in Gunungsitoli, the main town on Indonesia's Nias island, a local official told Metro TV.
"I can guarantee that dozens have died," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of the town, said by telephone.
"Gunungsitoli is now like a dead town. The situation here is in extreme panic."
A senior police officer told Reuters he had seen three dead bodies and that many others were trapped in damaged buildings.
"The earthquake was massive, it's still shaking now," said A. Nainggolan, the deputy police chief in Gunungsitoli.
Nias, off the western coast of Sumatra and about 1,400 km (870 miles) northwest of Jakarta, is a remote and rugged island famed as a surfing paradise.
The Pacific tsunami warning center said the quake had the potential to cause a "widely destructive tsunami" and authorities should take "immediate action," including evacuating coastlines within 600 miles of the epicenter.
One official said any possible tsunami could be headed toward the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
But the center added: "Authorities can assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicenter within three hours of the earthquake."
QUICK REACTIONS
Unlike in the immediate aftermath of the December quake, reactions were quick across nations on the rim of the Indian Ocean, although it was close to or past midnight in the region.
Tens of thousands of people across northern and western Sumatra fled their homes, TV and residents said.
Thailand urged people living along parts of its west coast, including tourists on the resort island of Phuket, to evacuate while Malaysia issued a warning to coastal residents.
"About 3,000 to 4,000 tourists and locals have been evacuated from Patong and Kamala beaches to higher places," Phuket deputy governor Wichai Buapradit told Reuters.
"We've told them to take their valuable belongings and to go to higher places," he added.
Authorities in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, north of the epicenter, issued a preliminary tsunami warning as did the federal government in New Delhi. Sirens wailed in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Trincomalee and many coastal areas were evacuated, residents said.
Officials in Indonesia, India and elsewhere said there were no reports of a tsunami.
"There is no report of any damage," the Andaman and Nicobar islands' Lieutenant-Governor Ram Kapse told Reuters by telephone. "We have issued an initial warning. If there is any problem, we will evacuate."
A spokesman for the U.S. Geological Survey told Reuters the quake struck 125 miles west northwest of Sibolga, Sumatra or 880 miles northwest of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at 1609 GMT, close to where the 9.0 magnitude quake struck in December.
It was felt as far away as Singapore and the Malaysian coastal city of Penang, jolting people out of their beds.
"It felt stronger than on Dec. 26," said Arumugam Gopal, a resident of Penang.
A telephone operator in the Sumatran city of Medan said: "It was very strong. We all ran out of the building."
An NGO official in Banda Aceh, the town worst hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami, sent out a telephone message saying thousands of people fled their homes and headed for higher ground after feeling what he described as "a very damn big earthquake."
U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Don Blakeman said Monday's quake was considered a "great earthquake" because it was larger than a magnitude 8. He said it was an aftershock from December's temblor but was a "very serious earthquake in its own right."
57 minutes ago
Add to My Yahoo! Top Stories - Reuters
By Dean Yates
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A massive 8.7 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's Sumatra island Monday and killed several people, perhaps dozens, but there were no immediate reports of a tsunami, residents and officials said.
The epicenter, off the coast, was very close to that of the Dec. 26 quake which triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across Asia.
Monday's late night earthquake spread panic across western Indonesia, Sri Lanka and coastal parts of Malaysia and Thailand, the areas devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami. Sirens wailed and tens of thousands of people were evacuated after tsunami warnings while others drove or ran from the coast to higher ground. There were no signs of a tsunami up to three and a half hours after the 1609 GMT quake, but it killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes in Gunungsitoli, the main town on Indonesia's Nias island, a local official told Metro TV.
"I can guarantee that dozens have died," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of the town, said by telephone.
"Gunungsitoli is now like a dead town. The situation here is in extreme panic."
A senior police officer told Reuters he had seen three dead bodies and that many others were trapped in damaged buildings.
"The earthquake was massive, it's still shaking now," said A. Nainggolan, the deputy police chief in Gunungsitoli.
Nias, off the western coast of Sumatra and about 1,400 km (870 miles) northwest of Jakarta, is a remote and rugged island famed as a surfing paradise.
The Pacific tsunami warning center said the quake had the potential to cause a "widely destructive tsunami" and authorities should take "immediate action," including evacuating coastlines within 600 miles of the epicenter.
One official said any possible tsunami could be headed toward the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
But the center added: "Authorities can assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicenter within three hours of the earthquake."
QUICK REACTIONS
Unlike in the immediate aftermath of the December quake, reactions were quick across nations on the rim of the Indian Ocean, although it was close to or past midnight in the region.
Tens of thousands of people across northern and western Sumatra fled their homes, TV and residents said.
Thailand urged people living along parts of its west coast, including tourists on the resort island of Phuket, to evacuate while Malaysia issued a warning to coastal residents.
"About 3,000 to 4,000 tourists and locals have been evacuated from Patong and Kamala beaches to higher places," Phuket deputy governor Wichai Buapradit told Reuters.
"We've told them to take their valuable belongings and to go to higher places," he added.
Authorities in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, north of the epicenter, issued a preliminary tsunami warning as did the federal government in New Delhi. Sirens wailed in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Trincomalee and many coastal areas were evacuated, residents said.
Officials in Indonesia, India and elsewhere said there were no reports of a tsunami.
"There is no report of any damage," the Andaman and Nicobar islands' Lieutenant-Governor Ram Kapse told Reuters by telephone. "We have issued an initial warning. If there is any problem, we will evacuate."
A spokesman for the U.S. Geological Survey told Reuters the quake struck 125 miles west northwest of Sibolga, Sumatra or 880 miles northwest of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at 1609 GMT, close to where the 9.0 magnitude quake struck in December.
It was felt as far away as Singapore and the Malaysian coastal city of Penang, jolting people out of their beds.
"It felt stronger than on Dec. 26," said Arumugam Gopal, a resident of Penang.
A telephone operator in the Sumatran city of Medan said: "It was very strong. We all ran out of the building."
An NGO official in Banda Aceh, the town worst hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami, sent out a telephone message saying thousands of people fled their homes and headed for higher ground after feeling what he described as "a very damn big earthquake."
U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Don Blakeman said Monday's quake was considered a "great earthquake" because it was larger than a magnitude 8. He said it was an aftershock from December's temblor but was a "very serious earthquake in its own right."
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 59,385
Likes: 1,625
From: La Crescenta, CA
100 percent' chance of tsunami after quake: US seismologist
16 minutes ago
Add to My Yahoo! U.S. National - AFP
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - There is a "100 percent" chance of a tsunami threatening Indian Ocean nations following a massive 8.7 magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia, a US seismologist said.
"My personal view is that a tsunami has a 100 percent chance of happening," US Geological Survey earthquake expert Kerry Sieh told journalists in Los Angeles.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center called for "immediate action" against a tidal wave following the quake off Sumatra island which it estimated at 8.5 on the Richter scale. The US Geological Survey, one of the global leaders in earthquake monitoring, said it was 8.2 on the Richter scale.
It was the biggest aftershock since the December 26 quake in the same region that measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and caused a tidal wave which killed 273,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean.
The epicenter of the new quake was about 205 kilometers (125 miles) west of Sibolga on Sumatra and 245 km (150 miles) southwest of the Sumatra city of Medan.
An earthquake over 8.0 on the Richter scale is strong enough to cause massive damage and loss of life.
16 minutes ago
Add to My Yahoo! U.S. National - AFP
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - There is a "100 percent" chance of a tsunami threatening Indian Ocean nations following a massive 8.7 magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia, a US seismologist said.
"My personal view is that a tsunami has a 100 percent chance of happening," US Geological Survey earthquake expert Kerry Sieh told journalists in Los Angeles.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center called for "immediate action" against a tidal wave following the quake off Sumatra island which it estimated at 8.5 on the Richter scale. The US Geological Survey, one of the global leaders in earthquake monitoring, said it was 8.2 on the Richter scale.
It was the biggest aftershock since the December 26 quake in the same region that measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and caused a tidal wave which killed 273,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean.
The epicenter of the new quake was about 205 kilometers (125 miles) west of Sibolga on Sumatra and 245 km (150 miles) southwest of the Sumatra city of Medan.
An earthquake over 8.0 on the Richter scale is strong enough to cause massive damage and loss of life.
