Earthquake Indonesia, 8.7 on Richter scale

[IronRain]

An earthquake of 8.7 magnitude struck off the coast of Indonesia on Wednesday, sending residents there and in India dashing out of their homes and offices in fear. A tsunami warning was issued for the whole Indian Ocean.

The quake struck 308 miles southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, at a depth of 20.5 miles, the U.S. Geological survey said.

The quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, residents said. Hundreds of office workers in the Indian city of Bangalore left their buildings, workers there said.

The quake was in roughly in the same area as a December 26, 2004, quake of 9.1 magnitude, which sent huge tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed, and across the Indian Ocean.

In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

The 2004 quake was at a depth of 18 miles along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.

The quake was also felt in Sri Lanka and the southern Thai holiday island of Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.

Thai Meteorological Department deputy chief Somchai Baimoung said there was no tsunami warning yet in Thailand. Provincial officials along the Andaman Sea coast were preparing for possible evacuation if necessary.

(source Reuters.com)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-11/strong-quake-strikes-off-aceh/3944352
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17675399

 

[IronRain]

 

[indonesianorbinaut]

Aftershocks hit Aceh

Two aftershocks measuring 6.5 and 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Aceh at 4:28 p.m. and at 5:09 p.m. on Wednesday, following an 8.5-magnitude earthquake that shook the area at 3:38 p.m., according to the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The epicenters of the aftershocks were 42 kilometers off the Indian Ocean coast and 492 kilometers northwest off Simeuleu, Aceh, respectively. Indonesia has issued a tsunami warning following the quakes.

Local residents across the country’s westernmost province immediately left buildings and ran to higher places.

The Jakarta Post’s Nani Afrida reported from Sigli, Pidie regency, which is situated two kilometers from Aceh’s eastern coast, that the situation had returned to normal in the area.

“The earthquake was slightly different from the deadly quake which hit Aceh in 2004. This one lasted for 5 minutes but in a stable tremor, while the 2004 earthquake’s tremors went from slow to fast,” Nani reported.

One resident reportedly died in Banda Aceh as a result of a heart attack.

(source: The Jakarta Post thejakartapost.com )

---------- Post added at 18:15 ---------- Previous post was at 18:13 ----------


Indonesia Aceh quake triggers Indian Ocean tsunami alert

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.6 has struck under the sea off Indonesia's northern Aceh province.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said a tsunami had been generated but its likely impact was not yet clear.

It advised national authorities across the Indian Ocean region to "take appropriate action".

The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh.

One official quoted by Reuters said a 17cm (6.7in) tsunami had been generated and was heading for the coast of Aceh.

The US Geological Survey (USGS), which documents quakes worldwide, said the Aceh quake was centred 33km (20 miles) under the sea about 495km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.

It was initially reported as 8.9 magnitude but was later revised down to 8.6 by the USGS. Strong aftershocks were also reported.

The BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta says there were reports of the ground shaking for up to five minutes.

'Remain vigilant'

People fled for higher ground in Aceh province
The PTWC alert said quakes of such a magnitude "have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin".

A later alert said that sea level readings indicated a tsunami was generated and that it "may already have been destructive along some coasts".

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reports in the capital that there had been no tsunami reports so far, "but we remain vigilant".

"Our warning system is working well, and I have ordered the national relief team to fly immediately to Aceh to ensure the situation is under control and to take any necessary action," he said.

Bruce Presgrave of the USGS told the BBC that the quake was caused by the earth moving horizontally, rather than vertically, therefore had not displaced large volumes of water.

"We can't rule out the possibility, but horizontal motion is less likely to produce a destructive tsunami," he said.

Sutopo, a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, said electricty was down in Aceh and there were traffic jams to access higher ground.

"Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," he told Reuters.

'Minute of chaos'
The earthquake monitoring agency in Indonesia said the tsunami warning would remain in place for another few hours, but that there had been no reports so far of a low tide, which would indicate the water was receding before building into a tsunami.


The tremor was felt as far away as Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

"There was a tremor felt by all of us working in the building," a man called Vincent in Calcutta, India, told the BBC.

"All just ran out of the building and people were asked not to use the elevator. There was a minute of chaos where all started ringing up to their family and asking about their well-being."

The Thai office of disaster management said people along the coasts of Phuket, Phang Na and Andaman province should heed warnings and evacuate.

Tsunami warning sirens, set up in many vulnerable areas after the 2004 disaster, were heard in Phuket, where correspondents said people were calmly following evacuation routes to safe zones.

Indonesia straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of major seismic activity.

(source: BBC bbc.co.uk)

 

[N_Molson]

I'm glad you're safe, indonesianorbinaut, I was thinking about you.

 

[indonesianorbinaut]

Huge quake strikes off Indonesia, tsunami warning issued

(Reuters) - An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, sending residents around the region scurrying from buildings and raising fears of a huge tsunami as in 2004, but authorities said there were no reports suggesting a major threat.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Aceh, the Indonesian province closest to the earthquake.


The quake struck at 0838 GMT and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said soon afterwards a tsunami watch was in effect for the entire Indian Ocean. It later said the threat of a big tsunami had receded, although the warning remained in place.

"It doesn't look like a major tsunami. But we are still monitoring as tsunamis come in waves," Victor Sardina, a geophysicist on duty at the Hawaii-based institute, told Reuters.

Individual countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, issued their own warnings.

People near the coast in six Thai provinces were ordered to move to higher ground and authorities shut down the international airport in the beach resort town of Phuket.

The quake struck 308 miles (500 km) southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km), the U.S. Geological survey said.

Indonesia's disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger.

"The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.

But Yudhoyono said there were no signs of a disaster.

"There is no tsunami threat although we are on alert," said he said at a joint news conference in Jakarta with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said Britain was standing ready to help if needed.

"The situation in Aceh is under control, there's a little bit of panic but people can go to higher ground," Yudhoyono said.

He said he had ordered a disaster relief team to fly to Aceh, which was devastated by the 9.1 magnitude 2004 quake, which sent huge tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed, and across the Indian Ocean.

In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

"HORIZONTAL SHIFT"

Wednesday's quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, residents said.

Hundreds of office workers in the Indian city of Bangalore left their buildings while the Indian port of Chennai closed down because of the danger of a tsunami, the port said.

The quake was in roughly in the same area as the 2004 quake which was at a depth of 18 miles (30 km) along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.

One expert told the BBC the Wednesday quake was a "strike-slip" fault, meaning a more horizontal shift of the ground under the sea as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, and less risk of a large displacement of water triggering a tsunami.

The quake was also felt in Sri Lanka, where office workers in the capital, Colombo, fled their offices, and in Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.

Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka's minister for disaster management, called for calm while advising people near the coast to seek safety.

"I urge the people not to panic. We have time if there is a tsunami going to come. So please evacuate if you are in the coastal area and move to safer places," Amaraweera told a private television channel.

In Bangladesh, where two tremors were felt, authorities said there appeared to be no threat of a tsunami. Australia also said there was no threat of a tsunami there.

(Reporting by Jakarta, Bangalore and Bangkok bureaus; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

---------- Post added at 18:24 ---------- Previous post was at 18:21 ----------

I'm glad you're safe, indonesianorbinaut, I was thinking about you.

thank you N_Molson, but i lived in Java island, very far from Sumatra and i hope for safety of the resident of Aceh

---------- Post added at 18:26 ---------- Previous post was at 18:24 ----------

People gather outside the Baiturrahman mosque after an earthquake hit Banda Aceh April 11, 2012. An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, sending residents around the region scurrying from buildings and raising fears of a huge tsunami as in 2004, but authorities said there were no reports suggesting a major threat. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Aceh, the Indonesian province closest to the earthquake.
REUTERS/Stringer

 

[IronRain]

CNN: Tsunami watch lifted after two big earthquakes

 

[Eccentrus]

Some said that the earthquake had horizontal shift, not a vertical one like what happened in 2004, which is why this one is relatively "benign"

You people shouldn't worry about me or Indonesianorbinaut, we're thousands of km away from the epicenter, I would worry if Krakatau explodes again though (damn that mountain never erupts, it explodes!) since the city where I and Indonesianorbinaut lives in is just 400 kms from that err... bomb.