Breaking News: Earth Quake! New Tsunami?

sprq · March 28, 2005

Sky news reports Thailand has issued a tsunami warning 0017 hrs 29Mar05
NL

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If you look at the maps on CNN and the BBC, the epicentre is the other side of Sumatra, with Sumatra shielding Thailand and Malaysia from any tsunami. But Sumatra could be in for ###### again.

Darknight · March 28, 2005

Dozens Reported Dead in Indonesia After Quake

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A massive earthquake killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes in the main town on Indonesia's Nias island Monday evening, a local government official told Metro TV.

"I can guarantee that dozens have died," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of Gunungsitoli town, said.

The massive 8.2 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Sumatra Monday close to where a quake triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across Asia, residents and officials said.

The latest quake had the potential to cause a "widely destructive tsunami" and authorities should take "immediate action," including evacuating coastlines within 600 miles of the epicenter, the Pacific tsunami warning center said.

One official said any possible tsunami could be headed toward the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

Indonesia's Metro TV quoted a resident on the island of Nias, off western Sumatra, as saying buildings there were damaged.

"Things are quite bad right now," the resident said. "There is much damage. People are running in panic. Many people are also trapped."

He did not elaborate on what he meant by people were "trapped."

Tens of thousands of people across northern and western Sumatra fled their homes and drove or ran to higher ground, TV and residents said.

Thailand urged people living along parts of its west coast, including tourists on the resort island of Phuket, to evacuate while Malaysia issued a warning to coastal residents.

"About 3,000 to 4,000 tourists and locals have been evacuated from Patong and Kamala beaches to higher places," Phuket deputy governor Wichai Buapradit told Reuters.

"We've told them to take their valuable belongings and to go to higher places," he added.

Authorities in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, north of the epicenter, issued a preliminary tsunami warning as did the federal government in New Delhi. Sirens were ringing in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Trincomalee and many coastal areas were evacuated, residents said.

NO REPORTS OF TSUNAMI

Indonesia's information minister said there were no reports of a tsunami along the coast.

"There is no report of any damage," the Andaman and Nicobar islands' Lieutenant-Governor Ram Kapse told Reuters by telephone. "We have issued an initial warning. If there is any problem, we will evacuate."

A spokesman for the U.S. Geological Survey told Reuters the quake struck 125 miles west northwest of Sibolga, Sumatra or 880 miles northwest of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at 1609 GMT, close to where the 9.0 magnitude quake struck in December.

It was felt as far away as Singapore and the Malaysian coastal city of Penang, jolting people out of their beds just past midnight.

"It felt stronger than on Dec. 26," said Arumugam Gopal, a resident of Penang.

A telephone operator in the Sumatran city of Medan said: "It was very strong. We all ran out of the building."

An NGO official in Banda Aceh, the town worst hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami, sent out a telephone message saying thousands of people fled their homes and headed for higher ground after feeling what he described as "a very ###### big earthquake."

U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Don Blakeman said Monday's quake was considered a "great earthquake" because it was larger than a magnitude 8. He said it was an aftershock from December's temblor but was a "very serious earthquake in its own right."

But the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake had the "potential to generate a widely destructive tsunami in the ocean or seas near the earthquake."

"Authorities can assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicenter within three hours of the earthquake," it added.

sprq · March 28, 2005

If you look at the maps on CNN and the BBC, the epicentre is the other side of Sumatra, with Sumatra shielding Thailand and Malaysia from any tsunami. But Sumatra could be in for ###### again.

Wot? Mentioning infernal regions is a crime now, is it?

Darknight · March 28, 2005

TSUNAMI PANIC: Sumatra rocked by 8.2 quake

Published on March 29, 2005 The NATION

Phuket and Hat Yai felt the ‘Great Quake’; fresh tsunami feared

An 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra last night which was felt in Phuket, Hat Yai as well as some highrises in Bangkok.

A US Geological Survey spokeswoman told Reuters the quake struck 125 miles west northwest off Sibolga, Sumatra or 880 miles northwest of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at 1609 GMT, close to where the 9.0 magnitude quake struck in December.

A spokesman for the US Geological Survey told CNN that the earthquake could cause tsunamis.

“Certainly evacuations should be occurring. I hope they are,” spokesman Don Blakeman said, saying of the earthquake that “it could also cause some local tsunami activity.”

“Even if we do see tsunami activity it won’t be as widespread” as December's quake.

It was not known at press time if a Tsunami was heading towards the Andaman coasts.

The Thai Meteorological Department acting Director General Chalermchai Ekkantrong said last night his agency had issued tsunami warnings to provinces on the coast of the Andaman Sea in wake of the quake.

“Considering such a high magnitude of the quake, it could cause tsunami,” he said.

The quake triggered commotion particularly in six southern provinces struck by tsunami on Dec 26 last year.

On Phuket, Patong Beach residents and tourists rushed out of their houses and hotels to take any vehicles they could find to get away from the beachfront.

“I can hear cars roaring everywhere. The streets just turn into mess. Now I have to rush out of the hotel,” a local TV reporter said in her live report.

“The building is so badly shaken that I can’t keep myself standing,” recounted the Nation’s reporter Achara Pongvuthitham, who was on the 25th floor of the 33-storey Lee Garden Hotel in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district.

Achara said she and many other guests ran down the fire stairs to the street down below and saw debris of broken cement and glasses along the way.

Hotel workers tried to help many guests who were locked in elevators.

Three main roads in Hat Yai were crowded with people who fled from the sheaking buildings. Traffic in the town was in serious trouble due to congestion after panic.

The quake was also felt in tall buildings in Bangkok and other provinces.

India has reactivated an emergency control room following an earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale off the coast of Indonesia, fearing a fresh tsunami disaster, official sources said.

Top officials of the meteorological department were working to find out whether the quake could trigger a tsunami, the sources said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The emergency control room was set up following the December 26 earthquake which sent tsunamis crashing all along the Indian coast killing thousands.

District officials in southern India told television channels that they were awaiting instructions from the home ministry, which runs the control room, for any evacuation that needs to be done.

Met department officials in New Delhi said "an earthquake has occurred" but had no immediately details.

The Nation,

onethailand · March 28, 2005

The USGS has already upgraded the magnitude to 8.7.

Fortunately, the major danger period has passed and there are no reports of tsunamis in Indonesia and Thailand.

Sri Lanka is on alert and their danger period is not far from being over. Apparently Mauritius is considered the real danger area now.

Edited March 28, 2005 by onethailand

Darknight · March 28, 2005

Small tsunami reported on Cocos Islands

28 Mar 2005 19:09:40 GMT

Source: Reuters

(Updates with more quotes)

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - A major earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra on Monday caused a small tsunami on the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

The Cocos lie to the south of the epicenter of the quake, which the Tsunami Center has put at Magnitude 8.5.

"There has been no major tsunami observed near the epicenter," the Tsunami Center said. "There was however a small tsunami observed on the Cocos tide gauge."

A Tsunami Center official, Robert Cessaro, of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told CNN the quake was likely to have directed any tsunami waves to the south in the direction of Mauritius.

He said the massive quake that struck the region on Dec. 26 was now known to have directed most of its energy toward the north and that had relieved the underground stresses in that direction.

The latest quake was believed to have sent its main energy in the opposite direction, toward the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, he said.

"I think it's very likely that it produced a tsunami but we don't have any information about it because we don't have any water level gauges in that area. But something this size is likely to have produced a tsunami," Cessaro said.

"But because we think the event probably ruptured to the south, the beam of energy, rather than propagating towards the central Indian Ocean, may very well have propagated towards the south, towards Mauritius and Rodrigues," he said.

The U.S. National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is based on Hawaii.

Darknight · March 28, 2005

JAKARTA, March 29 (Reuters) - A massive earthquake killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes in the main town on Indonesia's Nias island on Monday evening, a local government official told Metro TV.

Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of Gunungsitoli town, estimated that 10,000 people had fled the town for higher ground in the wake of the 8.2 magnitude quake off the main island of Sumatra.

"I can guarantee that dozens have died," Mendrofa said by telephone.

"Gunungsitoli is now like a dead town. The situation here is in extreme panic."

Mendrofa added that roads had also been cracked by the quake

Further up date not released yet to the public.
only a headline - DK

Indonesian police say many trapped by quake

28 Mar 2005 19:17:38 GMT

Source: Reuters

JAKARTA, March 29 (Reuters) - Many residents in the main town on Indonesia's Nias island have been trapped in damaged buildings after a powerful earthquake struck on Monday evening

Edited March 28, 2005 by Darknight

RDN · March 28, 2005

i just got in from Rawai and Karon beaches in Phuket. No tsunami at Karon as of 2 am Thai time.

The traffic at the end of my soi was all heading north - trucks full of people. I headed south to Rawai. Got to the small hill about 1.5 kilometers north of Rawai and the normally 50 - 60 kph road was packed with people parking, setting up camp for the night.

Nothing much to see at Rawai. Lots of people standing near the sea gypsy village just watching the sea, but nothing much happening there.

Went to Karon - again at the small hill between Chalong and Karon there were crowds of people and trucks parked. At Karon circle a police car stopped just as I got through. I parked just past the beach at Karon and walked back to the beach. I got to some high ground and waited, looking at the sea, but nothing happened - apart from a drunk farang strolling onto the beach with his Thai g/f shouting "Stop crazy now!" at him .

A fire truck patrolled that part of the beach road with a loud speaker saying "Glap baan" (go home) to anybody who could hear him. At about 2 am I did indeed 'glap baan'. (But it was a 'fun' 60 minutes - occasionally kidding my g/f that the water had gone out and we should run back to the truck quick ).

One thing for sure, the police did an excellent job - lots of cars, bikes and the fire truck warning everyone about the possibility of another wave. I didn't see any bars open along Rawai beach. 10 out of 10 to the boys in brown.

cobra · March 28, 2005

If any thing is generated I understand it could hit ~ couple hours, it'll still be dark.

I just hope the commotion and noise wakes everyone one so they can take cover.

Keeping my fingers crossed ...

ProfessorFart · March 28, 2005

3 hours since the quake and according to the BBC fears of a tsunami are receeding.

Darknight · March 28, 2005

If any thing is generated I understand it could hit ~ couple hours, it'll still be dark.
I just hope the commotion and noise wakes everyone one so they can take cover.

Keeping my fingers crossed ...

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the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake had the "potential to generate a widely destructive tsunami in the ocean or seas near the earthquake".

"Authorities can assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicenter within three hours of the earthquake," it added.

Darknight · March 28, 2005

Thailand issues tsunami warning after quake

28 Mar 2005 18:10:19 GMT

Source: Reuters

BANGKOK, March 28 (Reuters) - Thailand issued a tsunami warning and ordered people to move to higher ground along its Andaman Sea coast on Monday after a great earthquake off the coast of Indonesia sent tremors felt as far away as Bangkok.

"Many people along the west coast...must be extremely careful," said Samith Dhammasaroj, a senior Thai official charged with setting up a tsunami warning system after more than 5,300 people, including 1,953 foreigners, were killed when giant waves struck six southern provinces in Thailand on Dec. 26.

"Please evacuate to higher places now. There is a strong chance of another tsunami," Samith told radio.

Teeranan Raktabutr, deputy chief of Thailand's Meteorological Department, said local authorities in the six provinces, including the premier tourist island of Phuket, had been ordered to move people away from the coast.

"About 3,000 to 4,000 tourists and locals have been evacuated from Patong and Kamala beaches to higher places," Phuket deputy governor Wichai Buapradit told Reuters.

"We've told them to take their valuable belongings and to go to higher places," he added.

This is also confirmed by our people in the area...

RDN · March 28, 2005

What is it about Christian holy days?

jaloochapurr · March 28, 2005

CNN AT 3:02 pm est usa, reports that a small wave has hit an island in the indian ocean. no damage reported.Banda,Aceh by way of CNN, plenty of panic but no wave reported.

Darknight · March 28, 2005

Upcoming News:

* POLICE ON INDONESIA'S NIAS ISLAND PREDICT 75 PCT OF MAIN TOWN DAMAGED

* Several killed by quake off Sumatra; no tsunami yet

* Quake causes panic but no tsunami reports yet -UN

pjallittle · March 28, 2005

Reminds me of the beginning of "The Day After" when the bueys were reporting impossible values ... brrr...
BTW, it's on CNN now.

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Actually, it has been reported as 8.7, larger than Dec 26. CNN reporting on evacuations nw, Indonesia reporting deaths and injuries, much smaller numbers and basically earthquake related, not tsunami.

Magnitude 8.7

Date-Time Monday, March 28, 2005 at 16:09:36 (UTC)

= Coordinated Universal Time

Monday, March 28, 2005 at 11:09:36 PM

= local time at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 2.076°N, 97.013°E

Depth 30 km (18.6 miles) set by location program

TAdam · March 28, 2005

I may be 10,000 miles away from you in California, but I want everyone to know that we're thinking of all of you there and hoping for everyone's safety.

thohts · March 28, 2005

This map shows 2 recent earthquakes (or, 1 and 1 aftershock)

Magnitude 6

"A strong earthquake occurred at 16:38:43 (UTC) on Monday, March 28, 2005. The magnitude 6.0 event has been located in the NIAS REGION, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"

jaloochapurr · March 28, 2005

(CNN) -- Fifty people were killed and about 300 homes were destroyed on the island of Nias, near the epicenter of a massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Indonesia on Monday, a government official there told CNN.

Meanwhile, a tidal gauge has detected a small tsunami in the Indian Ocean several hundred miles southwest of the earthquake

Scientists say the threat of a tsunami striking Indonesia and Thailand may have passed because a wave like the one that hit the region on December 26 would have reached those countries almost immediately. Monday's quake struck at 11:09 a.m. ET (1609 GMT).

A damaging tsunami is still possible and should be "presumed," said Robert Cessaro of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The quake may have sent its energy further to the south than last year's quake, which measured above 9 and ruptured to the north, he said.

ProfessorFart · March 28, 2005

Thailand: A tsunami warning was issued along the west coast but has now been withdrawn. Local authorities in six provinces, including the tourist island of Phuket, had moved people away from the coast. They are now being told they can return to their homes.

From Sky News.com 21.22 UK Time.

jaloochapurr · March 28, 2005

U.S. ready to help

The United States is moving into "battle mode" in the wake of the quake, alerting all the U.S. posts in the region and reaching out to aid workers, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.

"We're applying what we've learned from the previous earthquake, so that we can be prepared to be responsive quickly and in a meaningful way," he said.

USGS spokesman Doug Blake said there had been no reports of tsunami activity nearly 90 minutes after the quake struck.

"At this point in time we don't know what type of fault occurred ... and that is critical information we just don't have yet," he said. "It is in the aftershock zone of the December 26 quake. It's a little bit south, but it's on the same fault."

Experts agreed the quake was massive. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 8.7; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was 8.5.

"This earthquake has the potential to generate a widely destructive tsunami in the ocean or seas near the earthquake," NOAA said in a statement on its Web site. "Authorities in those regions should be aware of this possibility and take immediate action."

Asked whether evacuations are taking place, U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Don Blakeman said, "I certainly hope so."

george · March 28, 2005

Phuket and Hat Yai felt the ‘Great Quake’; fresh tsunami feared

TSUNAMI PANIC: Sumatra rocked by 8.2 quake