Posted on 12/26/2004 12:25:29 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale has shaken Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing nine people, triggering large waves at sea and sending thousands fleeing their homes in panic, officials and media said.
Around the same time, an earthquake measuring 7.36 on the Richter scale hit Bangladesh's southeastern Chittagong port city, the city's geophysical observatory said, and a tsunami killed 150 in Sri Lanka, according to an official there. A tidal wave was also reported in Thailand, where 100 people were said to be injured.
Residents in Indonesia said buildings collapsed and people fled their houses amid widespread panic.
"I saw four bodies of kids and five bodies of adults," one resident identified as Mustofa told El Shinta radio on Sunday from the Aceh provincial capital, Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of the island.
A flash flood hit part of Banda Aceh city before receding, he said from the town, 1,250 km (775 miles) northwest of Jakarta. It was not immediately known where the water had come from.
Most telephone lines appeared to have been severed and calls to the area could not be connected.
"The quake was 6.4 on the Richter scale. It happened at 7:59 a.m (12:59 a.m. local time)," Fauzi, an official at the Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics in Jakarta, told Reuters.
Residents of coastal regions reported large waves at sea. In the town of Sigli witnesses reported rising sea levels, Fauzi said.
Inland residents said river levels could be seen rising.
The earthquake could have triggered tsunami tidal waves and may also have damaged dams, causing rivers to rise, Fauzi added.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the earthquake at a magnitude of 8.1 and said it took place off the west coast of Sumatra at a depth of 40 km (25 miles).
The tremor was felt as far away as Singapore and Bangkok.
The epicentre had yet to be determined but preliminary data indicated areas between Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, and North Sumatra province, had been affected, Fauzi said.
Residents in North Sumatra's capital, Medan, reported a strong tremor that caused panic.
"It was quite strong. We ran out of our houses but we're now back inside," said one resident.
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rattled Indonesia's eastern Papua province in November, killing 29 people in the coastal town of Nabire.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire where plate boundaries intersect and volcanoes regularly erupt.
Carolyn
I don't know. There's a boxy sort of shape at the bottom of the global map on Drudge's web page which may indicate some sort of earthquake (or may just be my bleary eye). It's been quite some time since I did earth science, but I suppose the South Pole may be at the bottom of the "ring of fire." Certainly looks that way on Drudge's map.
Carolyn
That's my entire point. The Bangladeshis don't have an actual seismic network and have, frankly, no business trying to estimate quake locations and magnitudes.
You are very, very wrong.
This supposed EQ in Bangladesh has been floating around the wires for at least 6+ hours now.
It's a totally crap report. There's been no EQ in Bangladesh. It's a mislocation of either the main Sumatran quake or one of its aftershocks. In one of the wire articles the Bangladeshi Met office themselves admitted they don't have the resources to accurately locate earthquakes.
Been wondering about a sign, too.
Hey, it's the holidays! ;-)
We had a jolt in 1986.
Bangladesh Cyclone, November 1970. The greatest tropical system disaster this century occurred in Bangladesh in November 1970. Winds coupled with a storm surge killed between 300,000- 500,000 people.
Bangladesh Cyclone 02B, April 1991. Another cyclone struck the Chittagong region in Bangladesh in 1991 killing over 138,000 people and causing damage in excess of 1.5 billion dollars.
I usually wait until it shows up on one of the USGS reports, which picks them up from all over the world. If they've picked this one, it's probably not a "crap" report--if they haven't, you could be right.
Well if thats the case, I guess the old refrain, "See you in St Louis" may be a moot point?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308009/posts
This is about the 8.1 Antarctica quake and the penquins.
Then why were far more Hindus and Buddhists killed?
And other south Indians.
The USGS doesn't list this quake on their earthquake website.
Keep track. It might be between 60 and 120 degrees away as each aftershock triggers yet another aftershock.
If New Madrid cracked and Yellowstone blew I think that would be the end of America as we know it.
Funny how the Bible does not make a clear of mention America in the end times prophecy.
That's because you're a sick person.
So many of the people affected weren't Islamic.
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