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Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
USGS Earthquake Hazards ^ | 2004 December 26 00:58:55 UTC

Posted on 12/25/2004 5:46:26 PM PST by 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.)

Small globe showing earthquake

Small map showing earthquake

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



TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2004; 8point1; 8point9; africa; asian; asianearthquake; christmas; earthquake; hangten; india; indonesia; jakarta; madras; ninepointzero; quake; srilanka; sumatra; sumatraquake; surfsup; thrustfault; tidalwave; tidalwaves; tsunami; tsunamis
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To: oceanperch

It wasn't christmas over there, int'l date line, it was the 26th.


541 posted on 12/26/2004 12:12:09 PM PST by Central Scrutiniser (I'll never see myself in the mirror with my eyes closed)
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To: capitan_refugio

Is moment magnitude what's listed with the USGS email listings?

THX.


542 posted on 12/26/2004 12:12:36 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Strategerist

I had almost forgotten about a Sri Lankan family we knew years ago when my son was in kindergarten. We were all living in married student housing at a university. Their child was a bit younger and had been born w/part of his arm missing below the elbow.

They were practically beside themselves that we let our son play with theirs. Why wouldn't we? But apparently at home, the boy was a bit of an outcast due to his disability. Eventually, the child was fitted for a prosthetic arm, which was no big deal here in the states, but was something the parents couldn't get in Sri Lanka, even tho they came from well to do people.


543 posted on 12/26/2004 12:13:58 PM PST by radiohead
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To: NautiNurse

I'm always torn on that issue.

For some, you are undoubtedly right.

Not sure what to add. Doubt my formatting will change drastically. Not sure I can explain why. I normally prefer to be practical and maximumally effective. But the only peace I have is to . . . . essentially . . . be me.


544 posted on 12/26/2004 12:14:52 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Netizen

Evidently, your study of the quality of the documents--which we have from at least within 30-40 years of the events--evidently your study of the quality of the historic documents is extremely lacking.

Josh McDowell and others could be of great help to you IF you really were interested in truth.


545 posted on 12/26/2004 12:19:14 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: null and void

CERTAINLY.


546 posted on 12/26/2004 12:19:37 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: Central Scrutiniser

When I was a baby, shortly after WWII, my Dad was stationed in Hawaii. Mom tells me that we were on the beach when the tide went way out. She could see the bottom where water had always been. Being a new mom and naturally cautious, she fled from this disruption in the "continum." Thankfully, she did. A tidal wave soon roared over the beach.


547 posted on 12/26/2004 12:19:56 PM PST by ghostrider
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To: Netizen

God will certainly take care of all who are abidingly and persistently in rebellion against Him.

And, He WILL TAKE CARE OF in a very different way, those with authetnic hearts to know and abide WITH HIM.


548 posted on 12/26/2004 12:20:53 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: All

INDONESIA

Epicentre of earthquake off the western island of Sumatra

Dozens of buildings destroyed in the initial quake before a huge wall of water, up to 10m high in places, hit the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra

Coastal towns and villages, and the resort island of Nias, swamped




SRI LANKA

Wide stretch of the eastern coastline - from Jaffna in the north to the popular tourist beaches in the south - devastated

Districts of Muttur and Trincomalee reportedly inundated by waves as high as 6m

Port in the capital, Colombo, shut by flash floods

More than a million people have been forced from their homes, officials say




INDIA

More than 2000km (1243 miles) of southern coast swamped by tidal waves, including states of Tamil Nadu - whose capital, Madras, was particularly badly hit - Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, as well as federally administered territory of Pondicherry

Vast swathes of countryside submerged

Heavy damage is also reported in the Andaman and Nicobar islands




THAILAND

Western coast of southern Thailand badly affected, including Phuket and Phi Phi islands and mainland resorts of Krabi and Phang Nga.




MALDIVES

High waves and floods inundate islands

Large areas of the capital, Male, left under water and some low lying islands abandoned

Some of the country's 200 islands cannot be contacted




MALAYSIA

People reported to have been swept away from beaches near the northern island of Penang and others are said to have died in Kedah state




SOMALIA

Northern Somali coastline, more than 6,000 km (3,728 miles) from the epicentre, is reported affected

Wave hits town of Garacad in central Somalia, reportedly drowning several people and capsizing fishing boats




BURMA

The south-eastern coast is reported to have been struck by a huge wave


549 posted on 12/26/2004 12:21:17 PM PST by stlnative
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To: Netizen

BTW, I assure you, you have less than a 0.00000000000001% clue about me.


550 posted on 12/26/2004 12:21:18 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: CounterCounterCulture

CERTAINLY.


551 posted on 12/26/2004 12:21:45 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: hedgetrimmer

What a nightmare.....I wouldn't think you could outrun a tsunami that comes without a warning system in place.

We have a plan of action here in Newport Oregon but if it ever needed to be put in place for real it scares me that the County would screw it up. Past history.

North from us in Tillamook they have sirens to let residents know to head to higher ground.

I live on the Bay at the mouth of the Pacific, literally and we have had two felt quakes off the coast in the last six months.

I have been here 15 yrs and no quakes, left Cali to come up here after the Bay Area quake in '89.

Now we have quakes offshore 200miles + all the time and no bigger than 4.0.

Scary stuff. I was shaken mentally after the two here that were small so I cannot fathom the mental anxiety and suffering of those in the Indian Ocean Christmas quake.


552 posted on 12/26/2004 12:24:22 PM PST by oceanperch (2005 is going to be an Awesome Year, IMO)
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To: nhoward14

I do appreciate your posting the eyewitness doc.


553 posted on 12/26/2004 12:27:10 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: nhoward14

As I recall, the moral issues were the very basic sorts that 99% of all cultures agree on.


554 posted on 12/26/2004 12:27:58 PM PST by Quix (5having a form of godliness but denying its power. I TIM 3:5)
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To: oceanperch

Thing is in Oregon it's a relatively short distance to higher ground.

Even a truly huge tsunami is going to be lower than the altitude a normal person can walk to in a fairly brief period of time.

For the most likely source of a tsunami (Alaska) you're going to have several hours of warning; even if some horrible traffic jam develops you should be able to walk inland far enough to get 100+ feet above sea level.

Of course, a huge Cascadia quake is another problem. The waves will be onshore quite quickly. Still, if you start heading inland when you FEEL a big quake (don't wait for tsunami warning) you still should be able to escape a tsunami by simply walking.

The thing to keep in mind is that if you get stuck in some sort of evacuation traffic jam in a car is to abandon the car and walk if you have to.


555 posted on 12/26/2004 12:28:03 PM PST by Strategerist
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To: capitan_refugio

what exactly happens in seafloor displacment?

The media and here on FR the term keeps coming up but I don't understand it.


556 posted on 12/26/2004 12:28:47 PM PST by oceanperch (2005 is going to be an Awesome Year, IMO)
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To: Strategerist

Has anyone heard from expatguy in a while?


557 posted on 12/26/2004 12:29:30 PM PST by bperiwinkle7 ("In the beginning was the Word.....")
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Comment #558 Removed by Moderator

To: capitan_refugio

what exactly happens in seafloor displacment?

The media and here on FR the term keeps coming up but I don't understand it.


559 posted on 12/26/2004 12:30:13 PM PST by oceanperch (2005 is going to be an Awesome Year, IMO)
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To: Quix; All
Just got off the phone with Phuket now is 3:28 AM there - Entire beach area upto KFC on Bangla road is off limits - Army has moved in and has threatened to shoot looters. Bodies are still being found. Death toll expected to rise much higher.

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

560 posted on 12/26/2004 12:31:50 PM PST by expatguy (http://laotze.blogspot.com/)
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