Maybe Up To 6000 Dead, Tidal Waves Slams Thailand

[Darknight]

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thai authorities say more than 300 people have been killed as a result of tsunamis that devastated southern Thailand after an enormous earthquake off the coast of Indonesia.

Officials in Bangkok said 117 people are reported dead on the resort island of Phuket, and another 60 people on the island of Phi Phi.

Twenty-eight were killed in the coastal city of Krabi.

East of Phuket, 86 people were killed in Phangnga, and north of the resort island, in Ranong, 23 people were killed.

Officials have also said that 300 to 400 people were still missing at sea and more than 5,000 have been injured.

The economic toll is expected to be huge.

Phi Phi, smaller and less-well known than Phuket, suffered a "clean sweep" of its hotels, officials said, which will have to be rebuilt.

The Phuket area brings in 40 percent of Thailand's $10 billion annual tourist business.

Phuket's airport closed when its runways flooded, but later reopened. Officials, however, kept most roads closed, fearing structural damage to buildings, roads and bridges.

Tourist Ernst Mollemans, on the last day of his vacation and taking a boat trip from one island to another south of Phuket, narrowly escaped death or serious injury when he heard the driver scream and abruptly turn the boat toward a small beach to their left.

"We wondered why he was doing that, so we turned around and saw this wave, about three meters," Mollemans said.

"When the boat hit the beach, we jumped out and ran up the beach. We were lucky it went up hill, it was rather steep. And we turned around and we saw the boat crushed."

Mollemans said his party waited six hours for a boat to bring them back, and they have spent their time since trying to help.

"There are people who are just doing their normal lives because they weren't affected, and then there are people who are devastated," he said.

"There are people in a restaurant, eating their meals, and then there are people walking by crying."

"The strangest thing to me was when we were coming back on the boat, there was a really beautiful sunset."

Security expert Will Geddes, vacationing in Phuket, told CNN the devastation was "quite substantial."

"The whole beach area and most of the town were under water," he said.

"Beach villas were completely taken out. It was quite amazing to see."

Those on the beach "had to run very quickly," he said, "and the water came in again and again on waves.

"When the water was about up to my ankles, about two seconds later it was up to my chest," he said.

The entire process took about 20 minutes, but the first few waves -- taking about five to 10 minutes -- caused the worst damage, he said.

Geddes said it was low tide when the waves struck -- which may have helped prevent even worse damage.

Geddes also said he felt the initial quake, which struck just off northern Sumatra and registered 8.9 magnitude -- the strongest earthquake on the planet in 40 years -- and it shook his villa "quite substantially."

[Darknight]

10 BIGGEST QUAKES SINCE 1900

Chile, 1960: 9.5

Alaska, 1964: 9.2

Alaska, 1957: 9.1

Kamchatka, 1952: 9.0

Sumatra, 2004:8.9

Near Ecuador, 1906: 8.8

Alaska, 1965: 8.7

Tibet, 1950: 8.6

Kamchatka, 1923: 8.5

Indonesia, 1938: 8.5

Kuril Islands, 1963: 8.5

Source: US Geological Survey

[Darknight]

all about tsunami's:

http://www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami/intro.html

[Nick1]

.. im trying to have contact whith my girlfriend.. in phuket

i have send sms's and call but she don't answer.. i hear a strange music (maybe voicemail??)or can't connect try later...

is the telephone center still down???

[creamontop]

I have my girl working in Phuket. I know she is safe, we had 3 cell phone calls during this horrific sunday. She fled on a motobyke together with 6 other people from her workspace at Patong beach. Now she is about 70 km away from Patong in the open field, she only has some money her ID and some water left on her. She is having fever, is coughing really bad on the phone and her voice is really raw when she talks. (I am afraid she is catching pneumonia). Due to the fact of 14 hours daily shift working at the hotel which is not improval for her health.

I told her to stay there and wait for further help. They lit a campfire so they can be seen in the night from further distances.

I am deeply concerned to help her in this situation.

Therefore I need very specific information about a street in Patong beach.

The street is : Rachapathannusorn Rd.Patong,Kathu,Phuket ,k as she resides there.

The purpose for this knowledge is, to know if it is accessible with a motobyke so she can get out her belongings before she heads for the airport.

Thank you for any positive reply.

my email : [email protected]

my msn : [email protected] (also email)

[mbkudu]

Any quake in the ocean, will change the water around it....its called the Ripple Effect....whether a tsunami is created depends on other facters...many of them geological.....when a tsunami is a large swell...it collects water as it goes...the further it travels the more it collects....

Uh, waves do not collect or even transport water. Only the energy of the wave moves through the medium, in this case water, but the water itself does not move much.

The water only moves up and then down as the wave energy moves across the open ocean. Where it really moves up, out and down is at the shore. This is where all the water is 'transported' and devastation occurs.

[george]

Here is some photos from the disaster in Phuket:

http://www.thaivisa.com/gallery/album19

Copyright: Sefton Hanley 2004

Thanks, Sefton!

[RDN]

I've just been for a drive to Karon and Patong. I'll try to describe what I saw. The road blocks at Chalong had been removed so I could get to Kata. Not too much to see until you get up the short but steep hill and on the road to Karon.

The beach front at south Karon is a mess. Many shop houses have their down stairs front walls washed away. A lot of sand and debris on the road. It was like this all the way to north Karon.

At north Karon, where I normally go, the structure in the middle of a small roundabout was reduced to a pile of bricks. This small roundabout is about 50 metres from the old sea front. Now the sea-facing edge of the roundabout is hanging over a void. The sand has gone.

Driving over the mountain to Patong was uneventful. At Patong, the police were manning barriers to prevent access to the beaches. But along the second road - Rat U Thit 200 Pi - there was a lot of sand, rubbish and debris. Looking left into Bang La road, it was very dark, and difficult to make out what was left standing.

Trying to get further north to Kamala proved too risky. The amount of sand and debris in the road made me turn back - I have only a 2-wheel drive pick-up. But as I approached the 3-way junction at the north end of Patong, I remembered that this was the place shown on CNN - the traffic sign showing a fork in the road, and another showing directions to Kamala and Patong beaches.

Getting out of Patong was straightforward. The steep hill road to Phuket town looked normal enough at the bottom, but when I got near the top it was lined on both sides by people - with their cars and trucks - who were obviously intending to sleep there. It was 3 am as I drove by. Maybe these poor souls had just lost their homes. I had seen the same sight at a high point on the road from Chalong to Rawai this afternoon - there were people sitting on open ground next to their cars and trucks. It looked like they were having a pic-nic, but they were still there at 2 am this morning, so they were obviously there because they had nowhere else to go or were too afraid to stay in their homes.

Once away from the road over the mountain, everything returned to normal. It was like a different world, a normal world. But in Patong, Karon and Kata - devastation.

[baht&sold]

George & crew/contributors, outstanding work, many thanks.

Now, if everyone whom doesn't have an absolutely neccesary phone call to make to Phuket/Krabi etc, pls stay off the line. The network is absolutely jammed at times and undoubtedly we'd all be doing our bit in the effort to simply lay off any unnecesary calls OR sms's (yes, they add to the traffic too).

best to ALL

[gregor200]

.. im trying to have contact whith my girlfriend.. in phuket

i have send sms's and call but she don't answer.. i hear a strange music (maybe voicemail??)or can't connect try later...

is the telephone center still down???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You get a kind of voicemail and a lady telling that the phone is not reachable and you can leave a message. AIS was down for some time or the net was overloaded, or the cellular was not charged or fell down into the water... I reached my girl about 6 o´clock evening Phuket time. Was speaking about 10 minutes, good quality, no interrupts. What she told me you can see on the pictures. Lot of traffic on the road, nearly all cars bumped (hers too).

[ThaiLover1]

It all depends on how the "plates" move. A sideways movement might make the ground shake, but it will do bugger all to the sea. This earthquate was quite a way out to sea. The "plates" moved up/down and displaced the sea bed from 10 to 30 metres, which as you can imagine would be impossible to predict. It is also not an exact Science at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, it is not exact science but the deadly results are very exact.

A tidal wave can be seen and felt, on the California side of the pacific ocean, 22 hours before it reaches Tokyo. There is no excuse for this poor communication. If it means finger-pointing, so be it. I am all for learning from the mistakes of the past to improve the future.

Here are at least some other scientists that are already calling for a better warning system:

"The catastrophic death toll in Asia caused by a massive tsunami might have been reduced had India and Sri Lanka been part of an international warning system designed to warn coastal communities about potentially deadly waves, scientists say."

from System might have reduced tsunami toll

[baht&sold]

.. im trying to have contact whith my girlfriend.. in phuket

i have send sms's and call but she don't answer.. i hear a strange music (maybe voicemail??)or can't connect try later...

is the telephone center still down???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You get a kind of voicemail and a lady telling that the phone is not reachable and you can leave a message. AIS was down for some time or the net was overloaded, or the cellular was not charged or fell down into the water... I reached my girl about 6 o´clock evening Phuket time. Was speaking about 10 minutes, good quality, no interrupts. What she told me you can see on the pictures. Lot of traffic on the road, nearly all cars bumped (hers too).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gregor, maybe you'd back me up here...sincerely glad to hear your Ja is ok, However, maybe anyone making unnecesary calls could free up the pipe for the ongoing effort...peace

[cdnvic]

.. im trying to have contact whith my girlfriend.. in phuket

i have send sms's and call but she don't answer.. i hear a strange music (maybe voicemail??)or can't connect try later...

is the telephone center still down???

Nick, I talked with my wife in Phuket a few hrs ago. It's taking about 3-4hrs for my sms to get through. Be patient, stay near the phone, and try not to worry too much. I hope she's ok.

Canadians who are unable to contact people in the affected areas should inquire HERE with forgien affairs Canada.

Those Canadians in the affected area should also refer to the above site and let consular officials know your whereabouts in case they are getting inquiries about you. They accept collect calls to Ottawa if needed.

Canadians and Australians should also be aware that due to an agreement between the two governments, citizens of either country may use the other's consular services when needed.

Australian Embassy Bangkok

37 South Sathorn Road

Bangkok 10120

Thailand

Tel: 02 287 2680

Fax: 02 287 2029

[email protected]

Canadian Embassy Bangkok

15th Floor, Abdulrahim Place

990 Rama IV Road

Bangrak, Bangkok 10500

Thailand

Tel: 662-636-0540

Fax: 662-636-0565

E-mail: [email protected]

[udon]

ABC

Abc news radio (Aus) has excellent news reports all thru the day and night.

11000 reported killed so far, no news from Burma yet.

Thinking about everyone in the disaster areas, not just Thailand....

[ronniem]

I just phone my thai friend , he lives on Koh Lone .. off Chalong bay . He is has lost everything , He didn't have time to take anything from his home , just got his family to high ground, but he and his family is safe . He is staying up on the mountain with his family . He is waiting for help to get him off the island .

Many houses on this island have been swept away .

Will the Thai goverment help people in this situation ???

I have been phoning my friends in Australia and have been asking them to donate some money to help my friends .. VERY happy to have raised about $800 in about 1 hour.

I feel very sad about this situation

[Pseacraft]

All of my best to everyone in the affected areas.

For those who don't know Thailand is a member of the Tsunami Warning System. It's a good system but like hurricane warnings here in the states most people don't heed them until it's too late. Tsunami are usually undiscernable (sp) which makes them a very dangerous event.

Eric

Member States of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System

* Australia

* Canada

* Chile

* China

* Columbia

* Commonwealth of Independent States, Russian Federation

* Cook Islands

* Costa Rica

* Democratic People's Republic of Korea

* Ecuador

* Fiji

* France

* Guatemala

* Indonesia

* Japan

* Mexico

* New Zealand

* Nicaragua

* Peru

* Philippines

* Republic of Korea

* Singapore

* Thailand

* United Kingdom (Hong Kong)

* United States of America

* Western Samoa

[kasi]

Chalong:

Very wild day.

Our power was out most of the day.

I felt the bed shaking in the morning and was about to tell my girlfriend to knock it off when I realized she was sound asleep.

While driving past Rawai beach on the way for a swim at Nai harn I noticed the water much farther out than usual and an odd frothy wave boiling in.

I stopped and watched as a guy in a long tailed boat was floundering around in it.

The water was rising quickly almost to the road (maybe 2 minutes). Many guys were rushing out to thier boats. Water rising fast I look out and see even higher water coming! time to go!

I get to Nai harn: Total devastation. All the chairs and umbrellas already washed out!

Back to Chalong to wake girlfriend and beat feet.

Went down to beach to see if it was affecting here. Water was rising fast too and people starting to panic. Time to go. Gathered up and went for breakfast at Flinstone bakery. All still calm here.

News starts to trickle in. Bakery in rawai under water! Patong hit hard! Water still rising in chalong, restaurant closes we head for higher ground.

Watching Chalong bay form the hills: Many have gathered up here mostly germans and thais.

After an hour or so we can see the water retreat.

Head back to the house. House is 100 meters from beach. Flooding is all around. House escapes due to slightly higher geography.

Power is off. Cell phone service to Patong is jammed!. SMS works! My pals are OK but it looks really crazy!

I looks like a lot of people will end up dead.

I was running an hour late for my swim. If I'd been at the beach at my usual time I'd have been caught!

What struck me in hindsight is how no one really realized what was happening as this weird wave was coming in.

My heart goes out to those who were less lucky!

[ThaiLover1]

Here is map from Reuters of the tidal waves in the "bath tub" of the Indian Ocean:

These water waves travel about the speed of a jet plane, but take many hours to reach distant countries. The waves slow down at the shallow water fronts (beaches) but can build to large heights (100 meters) and a wave period of an hour or two. See these link for more information:

Mega Tsunami

Savage Earth

[cdnvic]

I just heard on CBC that the east coast of Africa was getting hit by the waves, and there were casualties. Has anyone heard about the Nicobar and Andaman Islands fared? They were right in the mouth of this Tsunami.

cv

[buadhai]

And I do think ThaiLover1 has raised a good point. One of the biggest earthquakes in the history of the planet occurs, the geologists or whoever know it must cause a massive tidal wave, and what did they do to warn of the danger? Even a hours notice could have saved countless lives, if not property.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Pacific Rim countries have a well-established tsunami warning system with headquarters in Hawaii. A spokesperson from that organiztion noted that the Indian Ocean has no such similar system. Government officials in all countries expected to be hit by the tsunami were notfied by scientists in Honolulu, but the countries themselves had no internal system of getting such a warning out to the people likely to be affected.

I'm sure we'll see some changes as a result of this horrible disaster. I'm nearly in tears looking at the photos of the devistation. Just awful.

[baht&sold]

I just heard on CBC that the east coast of Africa was getting hit by the waves, and there were casualties. Has anyone heard about the Nicobar and Andaman Islands fared? They were right in the mouth of this Tsunami. 

cv

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Was/am just thinking the same thing cdnvic (and thx to TL for the previous graphic).

Also, what about Burma? Will we ever know?

[Pseacraft]

The USGS is now calling th eoriginating quake a 9.0 - yikes!

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/

[Pseacraft]

More from USGS:

Today's shallow, thrust-type earthquake occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatra at the interface between the India and Burma plates. In this region, the Burma plate is characterized by significant strain partitioning due to oblique convergence of the India and Australia plates to the west and the Sunda and Eurasian plates to the east. Off the west coast of northern Sumatra, the India plate is moving in a northeastward direction at about 5 cm per year relative to the Burma plate. Preliminary locations of larger aftershocks following today's earthquake show that approximately 1000 km of the plate boundary slipped as a result of the earthquake. Aftershocks are distributed along much of the shallow plate boundary between northern Sumatra (approximately 3 degrees north) to near Andaman Island (at about 14 degrees north).

Updated as of Sun Dec 26 22:35:15 UTC 2004. DATE-(UTC)-TIME Latitude Longitude Depth Magnitude Comments

yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss degrees degrees km

2004/12/26 12:11:55 11.59N 92.45E 10.0 5.5 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 12:09:41 12.21N 92.62E 10.0 5.4 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 11:05:00 13.54N 92.88E 10.0 6.3 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 10:19:29 13.45N 92.79E 10.0 6.2 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 10:18:12 8.95N 93.73E 10.0 5.5 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 09:20:01 8.87N 92.38E 10.0 6.5 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 07:38:24 13.12N 93.05E 10.0 5.8 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 07:07:09 10.34N 93.76E 10.0 5.7 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 06:21:58 10.62N 92.32E 10.0 5.7 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 04:21:26 6.90N 92.95E 10.0 7.3 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 03:08:42 13.81N 92.97E 10.0 6.1 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 02:59:12 3.18N 94.26E 10.0 5.9 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

2004/12/26 02:51:59 12.51N 92.59E 10.0 6.0 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 02:36:06 12.14N 93.01E 10.0 5.8 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 02:34:50 4.10N 94.18E 10.0 5.8 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

2004/12/26 02:22:01 8.84N 92.53E 10.0 6.0 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 02:15:57 12.38N 92.51E 10.0 5.8 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26 01:48:46 5.39N 94.42E 10.0 5.9 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

2004/12/26 00:58:50 3.30N 95.78E 10.0 9.0 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

[dr_Pat_Pong]

.. im trying to have contact whith my girlfriend.. in phuket

i have send sms's and call but she don't answer.. i hear a strange music (maybe voicemail??)or can't connect try later...

is the telephone center still down???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nick, I talked with my wife in Phuket a few hrs ago. It's taking about 3-4hrs for my sms to get through. Be patient, stay near the phone, and try not to worry too much. I hope she's ok.

Canadians who are unable to contact people in the affected areas should inquire HERE with forgien affairs Canada.

Those Canadians in the affected area should also refer to the above site and let consular officials know your whereabouts in case they are getting inquiries about you. They accept collect calls to Ottawa if needed.

Canadians and Australians should also be aware that due to an agreement between the two governments, citizens of either country may use the other's consular services when needed.

Australian Embassy Bangkok

37 South Sathorn Road

Bangkok 10120

Thailand

Tel: 02 287 2680

Fax: 02 287 2029

[email protected]

Canadian Embassy Bangkok

15th Floor, Abdulrahim Place

990 Rama IV Road

Bangrak, Bangkok 10500

Thailand

Tel: 662-636-0540

Fax: 662-636-0565

E-mail: [email protected]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thai MFA 24 emergecy numbers for the crisis are 02 643 5000 or 5003 or 5502

[SpaceKadet]

Does anybody know what is the extent of the damage north of Phuket, notably Takua Pa area. I have friends running businesses there and have not been able to reach anybody. Everybody talks about Phuket but there's not much news about outlying areas. Also, what is the situation on Koh Lanta. Appreciate if anybody can give more info..

Edited December 26, 2004 by SpaceKadet

[ThaiLover1]

I just heard on CBC that the east coast of Africa was getting hit by the waves, and there were casualties. Has anyone heard about the Nicobar and Andaman Islands fared? They were right in the mouth of this Tsunami. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, that is correct; the waves can travel across entire oceans - and WILL also reflect back and forth, just like water waves in a bath tub. Do not forget this! The tidal waves can take many days to die down.

It is all interesting physics, but my thoughts still go out to people that were hurt or killled. I understand that Thailand is a member of Tsunami Warning System, but somehow the communications from governments and local police must not be working very well. I am almost in tears.

Edited December 26, 2004 by ThaiLover1

[Bangkok Black Cat]

Does anybody have any news on how Ko Surin fared? It's pretty much out in the middle of the Andaman Sea, close to the Similan Islands and mnost of the accommodation is tents.

[ferd54]

With the USGS upgrading the earthquake to 9.0 it should make it the fourth-strongest since the Richter scale began around 1900.

OT, but maybe interesting:

I saw a documentary on cable in Chiang Mai only a couple of weeks ago about the 1960 9.5 quake in Peru (the strongest ever on record). The first quake hit and knocked down most of the buildings in southern Peru; two days later the great one hit and moved mountains, blocked rivers and caused vast devastation. Then the tidal wave hit -- and went as far as 100 kilometers inland. Then dormant volcanoes began to erupt, burning villages and setting the mountain forests on fire. And all the time it was raining. One river that was blocked formed a new lake above one of the larger cities in the south. The army decided to try to divert it over another mountain rise into another river channel where it could drain into the Pacific. They worked for a week with explosives, bulldozers (that got mired in the mud), and finally, by hand. After a week of desperate effort in the rain, they managed to divert the lake. There were reports that local Indian tribes had resumed human sacrifice to appease the gods. The exact human toll was never known.

The tiday wave also crossed the entire Pacific Ocean, causing fatalities in Hawaii and damage in Japan.

In the great Andaman earthquake of 2004 -- with isolated fishing villages all along the Andaman Sea, including Raynong, the coast of Burma, the Mergui Archepellago, the Nicobar and Andaman Islands (not to mention the sea gypsies) -- I doubt the true toll of this will never be precisely known, either.

[udon]

USGS: Warnings Could Have Saved Thousands in Asia

By Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A warning center such as those used around the Pacific could have saved most of the thousands of people who died in Asia's earthquake and tsunamis, a U.S. Geological Survey official said on Sunday.

None of the countries most severely affected -- including India, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka -- had a tsunami warning mechanism or tidal gauges to alert people to the wall of water that followed a massive earthquake, said Waverly Person of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center.

"Most of those people could have been saved if they had had a tsunami warning system in place or tide gauges," he said.

"And I think this will be a lesson to them," he said, referring to the governments of the devastated countries.

Person also said that because large tsunamis, or seismic sea waves, are extremely rare in the Indian Ocean, people were never taught to flee inland after they felt the tremors of an earthquake.

Tsunami warning systems and tide gauges exist around the Pacific Ocean, for the Pacific Rim as well as South America. The United States has such warning centers in Hawaii and Alaska operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. But none of these monitors the Indian Ocean region.

The 8.9-magnitude underwater quake -- one of the most powerful in history -- off the Indonesian island of Sumatra devastated southern Asia and triggered waves of up to 30 feet high.

DEVASTATING TSUNAMI

U.S. seismologists said it was unlikely the Indian Ocean region would be hit any time soon by a similarly devastating tsunami because it takes an enormously strong earthquake to generate one.

"That's really what has created all of these problems -- is that the earthquake is just so massive," said Dan Blakeman, a USGS earthquake analyst.

But Person said governments should instruct people living along the coast to move after a quake. Since a tsunami is generated at the source of an underwater earthquake, there is usually time -- from 20 minutes to two hours -- to get people away as it builds in the ocean.

"People along the Japanese coasts, along the coasts of California -- people are taught to move away from the coasts. But a lot of these people in the area where this occurred -- they probably had no kind of lessons or any knowledge of tsunamis because they are so rare."

A major tsunami, a Japanese word meaning "harbor wave," occurs in the Pacific Ocean about once a decade. It is generated by vertical movement during an earthquake and sometimes incorrectly referred to as a tidal wave, according to the Web site of the U.S. National Geophysical Data Center.

Because of the lack of monitoring mechanisms, the U.S. Geological Survey had no access to government or scientific information in the areas affected by the latest tsunamis.

"I've been talking to our tsunami people and they have no contact with any of these nations on the tsunamis," said Person. "We don't have anyone there. We get it from the press."

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

[Richard W]

More from USGS:

Today's shallow, thrust-type earthquake occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatra at the  interface between the India and Burma plates. In this region, the Burma plate is characterized by significant strain partitioning due to oblique convergence of the India and Australia plates to the west and the Sunda and Eurasian plates to the east. Off the west coast of northern Sumatra, the India plate is moving in a northeastward direction at about 5 cm per year relative to the Burma plate. Preliminary locations of larger aftershocks following today's earthquake show that approximately 1000 km of the plate boundary slipped as a result of the earthquake. Aftershocks are distributed along much of the shallow plate boundary between northern Sumatra (approximately 3 degrees north) to near Andaman Island (at about 14 degrees north).

Updated as of Sun Dec 26 22:35:15 UTC 2004. DATE-(UTC)-TIME  Latitude  Longitude  Depth  Magnitude  Comments

yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss  degrees  degrees  km     

2004/12/26  12:11:55  11.59N  92.45E  10.0  5.5  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  12:09:41  12.21N  92.62E  10.0  5.4  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  11:05:00  13.54N  92.88E  10.0  6.3  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  10:19:29  13.45N  92.79E  10.0  6.2  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  10:18:12  8.95N  93.73E  10.0  5.5  NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  09:20:01  8.87N  92.38E  10.0  6.5  NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  07:38:24  13.12N  93.05E  10.0  5.8  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  07:07:09  10.34N  93.76E  10.0  5.7  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  06:21:58  10.62N  92.32E  10.0  5.7  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  04:21:26  6.90N  92.95E  10.0  7.3  NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  03:08:42  13.81N  92.97E  10.0  6.1  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  02:59:12  3.18N  94.26E  10.0  5.9  OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

2004/12/26  02:51:59  12.51N  92.59E  10.0  6.0  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  02:36:06  12.14N  93.01E  10.0  5.8  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  02:34:50  4.10N  94.18E  10.0  5.8  OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

2004/12/26  02:22:01  8.84N  92.53E  10.0  6.0  NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  02:15:57  12.38N  92.51E  10.0  5.8  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION

2004/12/26  01:48:46  5.39N  94.42E  10.0  5.9  NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

2004/12/26  00:58:50  3.30N  95.78E  10.0  9.0  OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA

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Any relationship to the Javan earthquake on Christmas day (local time)? It's parameters are:

2004/12/24 23:54:49 -6.554 109.301 268.7

I appreciate that it was a lot deeper.