Huge quake triggers tsunami fears
ROBIN McDOWELL, Associated Press Writer
INDONESIA: A massive earthquake shook Indonesia on Wednesday, killing
seven people, injuring 100 and triggering a small tsunami that hit one
city on the island of Sumatra, authorities said. Tsunami warnings were
issued for much of the Indian Ocean region.
The 8.2-magnitude quake off Sumatra badly damaged buildings along the
coast and could be felt in at least four countries, with tall buildings
swaying as far as 1,200 miles away.
It was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, the strongest of
which registered at a magnitude of 6.6 and triggered a second tsunami
alert for Indonesia, which was lifted about an hour later.
At least seven people were killed in three Sumatran towns, Social
Affairs Department official Felix Valentino told the news portal
detik.com
Phone lines and electricity also were cut. Most of the damage
appeared to be from the quake.
A wave of up to 9 feet was reported to have struck the city of Padang
about 20 minutes after the initial quake, said Suhardjono, an official
with Indonesia’s meteorological agency, who goes by only one name.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported that a small tsunami
hit Padang.
Several buildings in Padang were damaged and at least one car
showroom collapsed, according to the news Web site detik.com, which said
people were searching to see if anyone was inside. It did not say
whether the quake or wave caused the damage. Suhardjono said
communication with the area was difficult.
At least one person was killed and dozens injured in Bengkulu, the
town closest to the epicenter, local government official Salamun Harius
told El Shinta radio. At least 100 others were hospitalized, senior
Health Ministry official Rustam Pakaya said.
Residents in Bengkulu, where at least one building was demolished,
said the quake triggered panic and that people ran inland.
“Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction,” said
Wati Said, who spoke by cell phone standing outside her house. “We think
our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it
will not touch us here.”
“Communication is cut, we can’t call out,” she added. “I don’t know
how you contacted us. Everyone is afraid.”
The quake could be felt in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 375 miles
away, where office workers streamed down the stairwells of tall, swaying
buildings. It also caused tall buildings to sway in neighboring
Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
The undersea quake hit at about 6:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EDT), the U.S.
Geological Survey said. It was centered 80 miles southwest of Sumatra
islandat a depth of 18.6 miles.
“Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread
destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian
Ocean Basin,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, warning that
waves could hit Indonesia and Australia within an hour, and Sri Lanka
and Indiawithin three hours.
It lifted the alert for Indonesia about two hours later, saying there
was no longer a potential for a destructive wave.
An official with Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center,
Passakorn Khanthasap, said it had sent cell phone text messages alerting
hundreds of officials in six southern provinces.
The Kenyan Government issued a tsunami warning and told people to
leave beaches.
In India, officials said nothing was felt in the remote Andaman and
Nicobar islands, some of which are just 150 miles north of Sumatra.
The Indian Government issued a tsunami alert for the islands, and
officials were telling local authorities to take precautions, said
Dharam Pal, the regional relief commissioner. In Australia, the tsunami
warning was lifted after only small rises in the sea level were measured
at Cocos Island and the Christmas Islands.
But officials warned residents to stay away from the ocean, warning
that dangerous waves and currents could still affect beaches, harbors
and rivers for several hours. Indonesia, the world’s largest
archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the
so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanos and fault lines
encircling the Pacific Basin.
In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and
triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen
countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia’s westernmost province
of Aceh. |