Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

USGS Earthquake Hazards ^ | 2004 December 26 00:58:55 UTC

[bd476]

Magnitude 8.1 - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
2004 December 26 00:58:55 UTC

Preliminary Earthquake Report
West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center/NOAA/NWS

A great earthquake occurred at 00:58:55 (UTC) on Sunday, December 26, 2004. The magnitude 8.1 event has been located OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

Magnitude	8.1
Date-Time	Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:55 (UTC) = Coordinated Universal Time Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 6:58:55 AM = local time at epicenter
Location	3.400°N, 95.700°E
Depth	40 km (24.9 miles) set by location program
Region	OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
Distances	235 km (145 miles) S of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia 330 km (205 miles) W of Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia 1620 km (1000 miles) NW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia 3405 km (2120 miles) SE of NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
Location Uncertainty	Error estimate not available
Parameters	Nst=020, Nph=020, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=0.98 sec, Gp=101°, M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=1
Source	West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center/NOAA/NWS
Event ID	at00000264

Location Maps: 10-degree NEIC Maps Did you feel it? Report shaking and damage at your location. You can also view a map displaying accumulated data from your report and others. Historical Moment Tensor Solutions Seismic Hazard Map Historical Seismicity Theoretical P-Wave Travel Times Magnitude 7 and Greater Earthquakes This Year TsunamiBulletin Archive of newsworthy events

[BIGLOOK]

Once formed, seismic sea waves travel at 600+ mph in the sea. We only see their effects when they collide with a land form. The quake was reported at 7 AM local in Indonesia, Tsunami damage in Thailand 5 hrs later.

[edmond246]

I've been looking for news/confirmation out of Thialand, I have a friend there right now on business, any concrete information?

[Netizen]

LOL Looks like you managed a bullseye while being blindfolded.

[expatguy]

Patong Beach hit and Bangla road is flooded. Army is there now. I dont know how bad . Up past Aloha and C&N,

[Betty Jane]

I'm here and praying for you and all over there. Are you safe? Do you have some place to go. May God keep you safe.

[Seaplaner]

Big, you said "There is the Richter Scale for measuring quakes. There's another... that deals with physical destruction and human response."

If I remember correctly, the Richter Scale is rarely used now. It was principally a measure of ground motion, and was not a good measure of the actual energy released in the event.

The current term is simply "magnitude", and corresponds to the power of the seism.

Additionally, if my memory isn't too "shaky", the measure of physical destruction you mentioned is the Mercalli Scale.

[dogbyte12]

This earthquake is the strongest earthquake recorded on the planet in 40 years. This is serious crap.

The death toll is going to be heavy, mainly from tsunamis.

[expatguy]

Im in Kuala Lumpur on high ground - the people getting hit are on the coast. Phuket hit. Beach in Penang is on north of the island. Im trying to call another friend in Pangkor now.

[ForGod'sSake]

And I really am worried about Diego Garcia...

They may be in some trouble. I'm a worrier and I've got a daughter and son in law on Guam. It's a long ways away and there should be plenty of interference in between, but I called 'em anyway and told 'em to turn on the news and get some info ASAP.

This is a booger!

FGS

[Central Scrutiniser]

Here is a pic I took overlooking the areas hit in Phuket. The far beach is Patong the middle one is Karon, and the near one that you can't see is Kata.

[Central Scrutiniser]

I'd be pretty worried about the Maldives, they are just barely above sea level.

[Strategerist]

You don't have to worry about Guam. There's no conceivable way you'd get decent wave propagation from the location of this quake to Guam.

[Slicksadick]

Diego Garcia not much farther than Sri Lanka, It shouldn't be long now if there is going to be a problem there.

[Central Scrutiniser]

I usually stay at the Expat hotel which is at the end of Bangala, on the other side of Rat-u-thit, that should be safe.

I imagine that the Irish pub across from the beach got it pretty bad.

[Strategerist]

Yeah, the Maldives have a huge population, higher than you'd think.

I'm not really sure how much shelving there is in the area; a gradual coastal slope will attenuate a Tsunami somewhat. Many factors go into determining a tsunami runup.

[Netizen]

And I really am worried about Diego Garcia (US military base, max elevation 22 feet, average height of the island above sea level 4 feet.)

Is there another EQ out there? 7.3 Bangladesh?

I didn't realize that Diego Garcia was at such a low altitude. :(

[BIGLOOK]

That's it, Seaplaner. Mercalli is an interesting but not very nice read. News reporting on this latest quake will be reported on the Mercalli scale.

We're at about 6+ hours now, who knows what will happen in the next 6-10 hours. The quake has created a seismic sea wave.

[Strategerist]

I don't see anything regarding a quake in Bangladesh. There are aftershocks way up north in the Andaman Islands though; that could have been someone getting a had location/magnitude for one of those.

[Central Scrutiniser]

Maldives could be bad. I wonder if Koh Phi Phi and Krabi got hit? They are on the other side of the side Phuket that got hit, they might be alright.

[Slicksadick]

You're right, about half the Maldives are out of the "shadow" of Sri Lanka.