Powerful quake hits Indonesia

Powerful quake hits Indonesia
4 minutes ago

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake hit Indonesia on Wednesday, causing buildings to sway in at least four countries, and authorities issued a tsunami warning for much of the Indian Ocean region.

The undersea quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 and hit at about 6:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EDT), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered 65 miles southwest of Bengkulu, on Sumatra island, at a depth of 9.7 miles, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for wide areas of the region.

"Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean Basin," it said, warning that waves could hit Indonesia and Australia within an hour, and Sri Lanka and India within three hours.

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," according to 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 temblor could also be felt in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 375 miles away, where office workers streamed down the stairwells of tall, swaying buildings.

Some people in high-rises in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand also felt the quake.

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.

This has been upgraded to an 8.2

Magnitude 8.2

Date-Time Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:10:26 UTC

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 06:10:26 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 4.517°S, 101.382°E

Depth 30 km (18.6 miles) set by location program

Region SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

Distances 130 km (80 miles) SW of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
410 km (255 miles) SW of Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia
620 km (385 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
695 km (435 miles) SSW of SINGAPORE

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 005
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1440Z 12 SEP 2007

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

... AN INDIAN-OCEAN-WIDE TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR

INDONESIA / AUSTRALIA / INDIA / SRI LANKA / THAILAND /
UNITED KINGDOM / MALDIVES / MYANMAR / MALAYSIA / BANGLADESH /
MAURITIUS / REUNION / SEYCHELLES / MADAGASCAR / SOMALIA / OMAN /
PAKISTAN / IRAN / YEMEN / COMORES / CROZET ISLANDS /
MOZAMBIQUE / KENYA / TANZANIA / KERGUELEN ISLANDS /
SOUTH AFRICA / SINGAPORE

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 1110Z 12 SEP 2007
COORDINATES - 4.5 SOUTH 101.3 EAST
LOCATION - SOUTHERN SUMATERA INDONESIA
MAGNITUDE - 8.2

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
------------------- ----- ------ ----- --------------- -----
PADANG ID 0.9S 100.4E 1348Z 0.98M / 3.2FT 34MIN
COCOS CC 12.1S 96.9E 1236Z 0.11M / 0.4FT 22MIN
DART 23401 8.9N 88.5E 1421Z 0.02M / 0.1FT 30MIN
LAT - LATITUDE (N-NORTH, S-SOUTH)
LON - LONGITUDE (E-EAST, W-WEST)
TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT (Z IS UTC IS GREENWICH TIME)
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).
PER - PERIOD OF TIME IN MINUTES(MIN) FROM ONE WAVE TO THE NEXT.

EVALUATION

SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY
ALREADY HAVE BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG SOME COASTS.

BASED ON THESE DATA THE THREAT CONTINUES FOR ALL COASTAL AREAS OF
THE INDIAN OCEAN. FOR THOSE AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES HAVE
OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS AFTER THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME
OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN
LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO
BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE
TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE
VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST
BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

DUE TO ONLY LIMITED SEA LEVEL DATA FROM THE REGION IT MAY NOT
BE POSSIBLE FOR THIS CENTER TO RAPIDLY NOR ACCURATELY EVALUATE
THE STRENGTH OF A TSUNAMI IF ONE HAS BEEN GENERATED.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS
WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION FORECAST POINT COORDINATES ARRIVAL TIME
-------------------------------- ------------ ------------
INDONESIA BENGKULU 3.9S 102.0E 1123Z 12 SEP
SIBERUT 1.5S 98.7E 1203Z 12 SEP
PADANG 0.9S 100.1E 1214Z 12 SEP
BANDAR LAMPUNG 5.7S 105.3E 1242Z 12 SEP
SIMEULUE 2.5N 96.0E 1243Z 12 SEP
CILACAP 7.8S 108.9E 1307Z 12 SEP
BANDA ACEH 5.5N 95.1E 1329Z 12 SEP
BALI 8.7S 115.3E 1345Z 12 SEP
KUPANG 10.0S 123.4E 1453Z 12 SEP
BELAWAN 3.8N 99.0E 1703Z 12 SEP
AUSTRALIA CHRISTMAS IS 10.4S 105.4E 1220Z 12 SEP
COCOS ISLAND 12.1S 96.7E 1234Z 12 SEP
NORTH WEST CAPE 21.5S 113.9E 1429Z 12 SEP
CAPE INSPIRATIO 25.9S 113.0E 1526Z 12 SEP
CAPE LEVEQUE 16.1S 122.6E 1542Z 12 SEP
PERTH 32.0S 115.3E 1545Z 12 SEP
AUGUSTA 34.3S 114.7E 1559Z 12 SEP
GERALDTOWN 28.6S 114.3E 1603Z 12 SEP
ESPERANCE 34.0S 121.8E 1726Z 12 SEP
KINGSTON SOUTH 37.0S 139.4E 1906Z 12 SEP
EUCLA MOTEL 31.8S 128.9E 1934Z 12 SEP
DARWIN 12.1S 130.7E 1948Z 12 SEP
HEARD ISLAND 54.0S 73.5E 1955Z 12 SEP
HOBART 43.3S 147.6E 2015Z 12 SEP
INDIA GREAT NICOBAR 7.1N 93.6E 1338Z 12 SEP
LITTLE ANDAMAN 10.7N 92.3E 1421Z 12 SEP
PORT BLAIR 12.0N 92.5E 1440Z 12 SEP
NORTH ANDAMAN 13.3N 92.6E 1453Z 12 SEP
CHENNAI 13.4N 80.4E 1540Z 12 SEP
KAKINADA 17.2N 82.7E 1604Z 12 SEP
TRIVANDRUM 8.3N 76.9E 1608Z 12 SEP
BALESHWAR 21.6N 87.3E 1701Z 12 SEP
MANGALORE 13.3N 74.4E 1732Z 12 SEP
BOMBAY 18.8N 72.6E 2005Z 12 SEP
GULF OF KUTCH 22.7N 68.9E 2019Z 12 SEP
SRI LANKA DONDRA HEAD 5.8N 80.5E 1447Z 12 SEP
TRINCOMALEE 8.7N 81.3E 1502Z 12 SEP
COLOMBO 6.9N 79.8E 1515Z 12 SEP
JAFFNA 9.9N 80.0E 1625Z 12 SEP
THAILAND PHUKET 8.0N 98.2E 1508Z 12 SEP
KO PHRA THONG 9.1N 98.2E 1554Z 12 SEP
KO TARUTAO 6.6N 99.6E 1626Z 12 SEP
UNITED KINGDOM DIEGO GARCIA 7.3S 72.4E 1526Z 12 SEP
MALDIVES GAN 0.6S 73.2E 1528Z 12 SEP
MALE 4.2N 73.6E 1544Z 12 SEP
MINICOV 8.3N 73.0E 1614Z 12 SEP
MYANMAR PYINKAYAING 15.8N 94.2E 1537Z 12 SEP
CHEDUBA ISLAND 18.9N 93.4E 1554Z 12 SEP
SITTWE 20.0N 92.9E 1629Z 12 SEP
MERGUI 12.8N 98.4E 1647Z 12 SEP
YANGON 16.2N 96.5E 1713Z 12 SEP
MALAYSIA GEORGETOWN 5.4N 100.1E 1704Z 12 SEP
PORT DICKSON 2.5N 101.7E 2048Z 12 SEP
BANGLADESH CHITTAGONG 22.5N 91.2E 1801Z 12 SEP
MAURITIUS PORT LOUIS 20.0S 57.3E 1803Z 12 SEP
REUNION ST DENIS 20.8S 55.2E 1820Z 12 SEP
SEYCHELLES VICTORIA 4.5S 55.6E 1847Z 12 SEP
MADAGASCAR TOAMASINA 17.8S 49.8E 1900Z 12 SEP
ANTSIRANANA 12.1S 49.5E 1905Z 12 SEP
MANAKARA 22.2S 48.2E 1919Z 12 SEP
CAP STE MARIE 25.8S 45.2E 2009Z 12 SEP
MAHAJANGA 15.4S 46.2E 2009Z 12 SEP
TOLIARA 23.4S 43.6E 2034Z 12 SEP
SOMALIA HILALAYA 6.5N 49.2E 1922Z 12 SEP
CAPE GUARO 11.9N 51.4E 1933Z 12 SEP
MOGADISHU 2.0N 45.5E 1938Z 12 SEP
KAAMBOONI 1.5S 41.9E 2004Z 12 SEP
OMAN SALALAH 17.0N 54.2E 1930Z 12 SEP
DUQM 19.7N 57.8E 1939Z 12 SEP
MUSCAT 23.9N 58.6E 1943Z 12 SEP
PAKISTAN GWADAR 25.1N 62.4E 1937Z 12 SEP
KARACHI 24.7N 66.9E 2031Z 12 SEP
IRAN GAVATER 25.0N 61.3E 1943Z 12 SEP
YEMEN AL MUKALLA 14.5N 49.2E 2003Z 12 SEP
ADEN 13.0N 45.2E 2100Z 12 SEP
COMORES MORONI 11.6S 43.3E 2006Z 12 SEP
CROZET ISLANDS CROZET ISLANDS 46.4S 51.8E 2009Z 12 SEP
MOZAMBIQUE CABO DELGADO 10.7S 40.7E 2034Z 12 SEP
ANGOCHE 15.5S 40.8E 2044Z 12 SEP
QUELIMANE 18.0S 37.1E 2213Z 12 SEP
MAPUTO 25.9S 32.8E 2218Z 12 SEP
BEIRA 19.9S 35.1E 2246Z 12 SEP
KENYA MOMBASA 4.0S 39.7E 2039Z 12 SEP
TANZANIA LINDI 9.8S 39.9E 2039Z 12 SEP
DAR ES SALAAM 6.7S 39.4E 2047Z 12 SEP
KERGUELEN ISLAN PORT AUX FRANCA 49.0S 69.2E 2049Z 12 SEP
SOUTH AFRICA PRINCE EDWARD I 46.6S 37.6E 2146Z 12 SEP
DURBAN 29.8S 31.2E 2205Z 12 SEP
PORT ELIZABETH 33.9S 25.8E 2256Z 12 SEP
CAPE TOWN 34.1S 18.0E 2359Z 12 SEP
SINGAPORE SINGAPORE 1.2N 103.8E 0048Z 13 SEP

THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FOR THIS EVENT. IN THE CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION...THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A massive earthquake shook Indonesia on Wednesday, killing two 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 in Indonesia, the meteorological agency reported.

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.

REVISED TO 8.4
== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT ==

***This event has been revised.


Region: SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Geographic coordinates: 4.517S, 101.381E
Magnitude: 8.4 Mw
Depth: 30 km
Universal Time (UTC): 12 Sep 2007 11:10:26
Time near the Epicenter: 12 Sep 2007 18:10:26
Local time in your area: 12 Sep 2007 11:10:26

Location with respect to nearby cities:
129 km (80 miles) SW (230 degrees) of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
411 km (255 miles) WSW (245 degrees) of Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia
411 km (256 miles) SW (217 degrees) of Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia
621 km (386 miles) WNW (287 degrees) of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

The earth is just rolling. I have never anything like this:


MAP 7.1 2007/09/13 03:35:27 -2.223 99.564 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.5 2007/09/13 02:51:31 -2.049 99.790 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.9 2007/09/13 02:30:01 -1.639 99.697 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.0 2007/09/13 01:55:45 -3.869 101.629 10.0 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.2 2007/09/13 01:49:05 -2.331 99.404 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.2 2007/09/13 01:38:05 -1.902 99.734 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.8 2007/09/13 01:26:33 -2.039 99.730 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAP 7.8 2007/09/12 23:49:01 -2.526 100.964 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.1 2007/09/12 23:19:44 -4.082 100.907 10.0 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.4 2007/09/12 22:17:18 -2.897 100.757 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.1 2007/09/12 22:02:24 -4.609 101.280 10.0 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.3 2007/09/12 17:04:33 -7.598 126.085 307.3 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.9 2007/09/12 16:37:01 -3.109 101.395 11.0 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.2 2007/09/12 15:35:05 -4.264 100.984 10.0 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 6.0 2007/09/12 14:40:01 -3.227 101.358 10.0 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.3 2007/09/12 13:17:15 -3.334 100.620 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 5.7 2007/09/12 13:02:03 -2.960 101.335 10.0 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.2 2007/09/12 12:21:44 -2.667 100.318 10.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

MAP 8.4 2007/09/12 11:10:26 -4.517 101.382 30.0 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

MAP 5.0 2007/09/12 01:55:41 -0.829 146.606 10.0 ADMIRALTY ISLANDS REG., PAPUA NEW GUINEA

4th earthquake strikes Indonesia

Quake with preliminary magnitude of 6.2 strikes northeast of Sulawesi

7.8-magnitude quake strikes at 11:45 GMT Thursday, reports USGS

7.1-magnitude quake strikes four hours after, reports USGS

Nine killed as 8.4 quake strikes off western Indonesian coast Wednesday


JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 struck northeast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, Thursday afternoon, a day after three major earthquakes struck the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

1 of 3 Residents in Indonesia and other Indian Ocean nations were put on notice about the possibility of tsunami waves. Most of those watches were later dropped, although a watch remained in effect for Indonesia.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck about 6:45 a.m. (1145 GMT), according to the USGS. The epicenter was about 185 km (115 miles) south-southeast of Padang and about 210 km northwest of Bengkulu.

About four hours later, the USGS reported that a 7.1-magnitude quake had rocked the region. Sandwiched in-between were half a dozen temblors measuring 5.0 and above.

According to Indonesia's Social Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie, a total of at least 60 earthquakes have rattled the country within a 24-hour period.

"Our main concern is the people," Bakrie said from Padang. "The victims are not as dire as we thought and everything has been taken care of."

The seismic shakedown began Wednesday night with a deadly 8.4-magnitude quake -- centered in southern Sumatra.

It was not immediately known whether Thursday's quakes were aftershocks of Wednesday's event. At least 10 aftershocks of magnitude 5.1 to 6.0 were felt in the region after the larger quake, which shook buildings hundreds of miles away, killed at least nine people and generated a small tsunami about 60 cm (2 feet) high along the Sumatran coast.

While there were no immediate reports of a tsunami after Thursday's quakes, the Indonesian government issued a tsunami warning.

People in the Indian Ocean region have been extremely skittish about the possibility of earthquake-induced tsunamis since December 2004, when gigantic waves triggered by a 9.1-magnitude quake that killed more than 200,000 people in seven countries.

Wednesday evening's quake killed at least nine people in Bengkulu province and Padang, and an unknown number were injured or missing, according to officials. Search-and-rescue operations, suspended overnight, resumed at daylight Thursday, which also marked the start of the holy month of Ramadan in the mostly Muslim country.

The relatively light loss of life can be attributed to national and provincial governments being battle-tested by a string of powerful earthquakes over the last three years, Bakrie said.

"The people understand more about the problems and the danger of the earthquakes," according to Bakrie. "The central government as well as the district government, at the provincial level, has warned the people ... so the system works."

The powerful quake shook buildings about 385 miles away in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and also in Singapore, about 435 miles from the epicenter.

"Doors started to creak, and the whole apartment seemed to ... make a cracking noise," said Rahayu Saraswati, who lives on the 35th floor of a building in Jakarta. "We ran out to the emergency staircase with other residents of the floor and ran all the way down to the lobby."

Bakrie said thousands of homes have been damaged in Sumatra.

Indonesia, a chain of islands in a seismically active area, is highly prone to earthquakes. Since the devastating tsunami of December 2004, Indonesia has fallen victim to 15 earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.3 or higher, according to the USGS. The quakes have killed almost 8,000 people, with the bulk of the deaths coming last summer.


The deadliest quake last summer came on May 26, 2006, when a magnitude-6.3 quake 16 km south-southeast of Yogyakarta left 5,749 dead. On July 17, 2006, a magnitude-7.7 temblor hit 145 miles south-southwest of Tasikmalaya, in Indonesia's Java region. The quake killed 730 people.

Another devastating quake on March 28, 2005 -- a magnitude-8.7 about 201 km west-northwest of Sibolga -- killed 1,313 people.