8.2 Earthquake Sumatra, Indonesia

[RBA]

A great earthquake occurred at 16:09:37 (UTC) on Monday, March 28, 2005. The magnitude 8.2 event has been located in NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usweax.htm

Here we go again. I hope nobody loses their life in this.

[RedFanAlways1966]

I hope everyone is heading inland. :(

[RBA]

CNN now reporting it:

DEVELOPING STORY Earthquake measuring 8.2 reported off coast of Indonesia on same fault line as quake that caused December’s deadly tsunami. Details soon.

[paintmered]

:(

[Johnny Footstool]

This is extremely bad news. I agree, RFA1966 -- I hope everyone near the Indian Ocean and western Pacific starts heading for high ground.

[KronoRed]

:cry:

[Redsfaithful]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/03/28/indonesia.quake/index.html


(CNN) -- An earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck off the coast of Indonesia Monday -- on the same fault line that originated a December 26 earthquake that launched a deadly tsunami.

The director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said scientists there feared another tsunami might hit the area.

Charles McCreary said he could not be certain that the quake, which was 30 km deep and 203 kilometer (126 miles) from Sibolga on Sumatra Island, would cause a tsunami.

"There is a potential for some wave activity," said Julie Martinez, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center, in Golden, Colo.

The quake occurred at 1109 ET (1609 GMT), and is considered a "great" earthquake, the largest of seven grades.

The grades are very minor, minor, light, moderate, strong, major and great.

Tsunamis are distinguished from normal coastal surf by their great length and speed. A single wave in a tsunami series might be 160 kilometers (100 miles) long and race across the ocean at 960 kph (600 mph).

When it approaches a coastline, the wave slows dramatically, but it also rises to great heights because the enormous volume of water piles up in shallow coastal bays.

On December 26, a 9.0-magnitude quake triggered a massive tsunami that devastated Asian and African coastlines in nearly a dozen nations, killing at least 175,000 people.

[westofyou]

Earthquakes of 9.0 are exceedingly rare and occur only along subduction zones where an intense force builds, perhaps over hundreds of years, until the plate gives way and a violent temblor results. In turn, tsunamis generally result only after big earthquakes approaching the 9.0 range.

http://www.platetectonics.com/article.asp?a=108&c=15

[Unassisted]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151703,00.html

A USGS official said the quake may be an aftershock from the deadly Dec. 26 earthquake that produces killer tsunami waves that hit as far away as Somalia on the east coast of the African continent.

The official said the quake was shallow and did not occur in deep waters, which may mean less of a deadly tsunami risk. No reports of damage were reported.

[paintmered]

An aftershock the magnitude of 8.2?? Wow :eek:

I can't even begin to imagine what those people are going through right now. Truly tragic :(

[westofyou]

Aftershocks suck, they drain you mentally and put you on the edge of panic.

[Chip R]

Boy, they need this like they need a hole in the head. :(

[RBA]

Quake has been revised to 8.7 by USGS

[Unassisted]

That FoxNews link I posted before now has this...


Hundreds of buildings were badly damaged on Nias island (search), off the Sumatran coast, close to the epicenter of the earthquake. Dozens of people may be buried in the rubble, said Agus Mendrofa, deputy district head on the island.

"Hundreds of buildings have been damaged or have collapsed. People who were standing fell over," Mendrofa said. "We're not sure about casualties, but there may be dozens of people buried in the rubble."

Nias, a renowned surfing spot, was badly hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake and subsequent tsunami (search) that killed at least 175,000 people in 12 Indian Ocean nations. At least 340 residents of Nias perished and 10,000 were left homeless.

Indonesian officials said the quake's epicenter was 56 miles south of the island of Simeulu, off of Sumatra's western coast, and just north of Nias.

[Unassisted]

Some optimism from an AP story (http://www.madison.com/bn/index.php?action=this&bn_id=0-33904)...


Tsunami warnings were issued in Thailand, Japan and Sri Lanka. Authorities said it could take several hours whether the quake had generated a devastating tsunami.

The West Coast-Alaska tsunami warning center said that if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicenter within three hours, then it is likely that the danger has passed.

"It seems this earthquake did not trigger a tsunami. If it had, the tsunami would have hit the coastline of Sumatra by now," said Prihar Yadi, a scientist with the Indonesia Geophysics Agency. "And if there's no tsunami on the coastline near the epicenter of the quake, there will not be one heading in the other direction."

The energy from the quake was generated in a southerly direction, said Eddie Bernard, a tsunami expert and director of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, in an interview with CNN. That direction is away from area struck on Dec. 26.

Sirens blared along Sri Lanka's devastated east coast as the government warned seaside residents to evacuate immediately.

"The government has ordered coastal areas to move to higher ground. We are giving priorities to eastern coast," said Brig. Daya Ratnayake, the military spokesman.

Low-lying coastal areas in Malaysia's northern states also were being evacuated.

In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said U.S. diplomatic missions in Asia and Africa are in "battle mode" so that they can respond quickly to any contingency.

He said embassy officials in the area have been asking host governments to inquire about any causalities to permit an early U.S. response if the situation calls for it.

[RFS62]

Aftershocks suck, they drain you mentally and put you on the edge of panic.


Man, is that ever true.

Time slows down, every second magnified until you know for sure if it's another big one.