7.2 Quake Triggers Tsunami On Indonesia's Java, At Least 5 Killed

[george]

7.2 quake triggers tsunami on Indonesia's Java, at least 5 killed

JAVA, Indonesia: -- The tsunami followed a 7.2-magnitude quake that struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean approximately 240 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Java's western coast.

A powerful earthquake sent a two-meter (yard) high tsunami crashing into a beach resort on Indonesia's Java island Monday, killing at least five people and damaging hotels and houses. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono confirmed the casualties in a radio broadcast.

People fled to a nearby hill to escape the wave on Pangandaran beach in west Java, a woman identified as Teti told el-Shinta radio station.

"All the houses are destroyed along the beach,'' she said, adding that at least three people were killed.

The tsunami followed a 7.2-magnitude quake that struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean approximately 240 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Java's western coast at 3:24 p.m. (0824 GMT), causing tall buildings to sway in the capital Jakarta and at least one other city.

--Agencies 2006-07-17

[george]

Waves hit Indonesia after tsunami warning: report

A powerful earthquake sent a two-metre (yard) high tsunami crashing into a beach resort on Indonesia's Java island Monday, killing at least three people and damaging hotels and houses, a witness told a radio station.

People fled to a nearby hill to escape the wave on Pangandaran beach in west Java, a woman identified as Teti told el-Shinta radio station.

``All the houses are destroyed along the beach,'' she said, adding that at least three people were killed.

The tsunami followed a 7.2-magnitude quake that struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean approximately 240 kilometres (150 miles) southwest of Java's western coast at 3:24 p.m. (0824 GMT), causing tall buildings to sway in the capital Jakarta and at least one other city.

JAKARTA, July 17, 2006 (AFP) - A tsunami alert was raised for parts of Australia and Indonesia on Monday after a 7.2-magnitude quake jolted the seabed off the Indonesian coast and sent people panicking into the streets.

Geological experts warned that the quake, south of the Indonesian island of Java, could trigger tsunamis that could hit coastal areas, and officials warned residents to take all precautions.

"If people in coastal areas felt the tremor strongly, they should immediately flee to higher ground," said Budi Waluyo, a seismologist at the geophysics agency in Jakarta.

But there had been no reports of a tsunami in Indonesia more than an hour after the quake. It struck at 0819 GMT in the sea off Pangandaran on Java island southeast of Jakarta, said Fauzi, the head of the seismology centre.

"There is a possibility that tsunamis could occur in waters close to the epicentre," said an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency.

"Tsunamis may reach coasts of Australia facing the Indian Ocean but we don't know for sure," he said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said on its website that a local alert was in effect for some Australian and Indonesian coastal areas.

"A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the Center said. "However there is the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts."

An underwater quake triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December 2004 that killed 220,000 people, including 168,000 in Indonesia's province of Aceh.

Monday's tremor was felt for about a minute in Jakarta, unnerving workers in tall office buildings in the capital as well as in parts of West Java.

"People ran out of their offices in panic," an office worker told ElShinta radio.

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake in Central Java and Yogyakarta on May 27 killed more than 5,800 people.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and seismologist Waluyo said the latest quake occurred along the same fault lines.

--AFP 2006-07-17

[george]

Indo quake not affect Thailand: Smith

Thailand Mondy remained unscathed from a powerful earthquake, which sent deadly two-metre-high wave to Indonesia's Java Island.

"There's no impact on Thailand," said Smith Thammasaroj, who oversees Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre.

Thailand's Meteorological Department reported the 7.2-maginitude quake erupted at around 3.19 pm, followed by the aftershock measuring 6.3 on Richter scale nearly an hour later. The quakes centred in Java where deaths, injuries and property damages were reported.

Phuket's disaster-prevention-and-mitigation chief Arun Kerdsom said the quakes were about 2,128 kilometres away and thus caused no impact.

Currently, Phuket has 18 early-warning towers in place.

-- The Nation 2006-07-17

[SamuiJens]

Hope the fatality rate stays small!

[binnsy]

Hope the fatality rate stays small!

i second that.fingers crossed

[Maejo Man]

Very sad but it seems to be rising.....

Indonesia quake, tsunami kill 100

Jakarta (dpa) - A tsunami triggered by a powerful undersea earthquake southwest of Indonesia's Java island on Monday killed at least 104 people and left nearly 150 wounded, the Indonesian Red Cross and police said.

The disaster - a tragic though less devastating flashback to the December 2004 Asian tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people in nine countries - was expected to rise as search and rescue efforts hampered by power outages and blocked roads intensified.

"We have 104 confirmed killed, and we expect that to go up in the coming hours," Desy, a spokesperson at the Indonesian Red Cross Society in Jakarta, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, early Tuesday.

She said at least 122 people were missing and 148 injured in the quake and subsequent tsunami, which destroyed several tourist hotels and homes on the southern coast of west Java province, the Red Cross and police said.

Search and rescue teams were working through the night to locate survivors and bodies after a 2-metre wave and subsequent flooding slammed without warning into the popular Pangandaran beach area and two other nearby beaches Monday afternoon, forcing hundreds of panicked local residents to scramble for high ground.

The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, struck Jakarta and parts of West Java province at about 3:20 pm (0820 GMT), said Jajad, an official at Jakarta's National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.

Budi, another Red Cross official, Budi, told dpa: "There are hundreds injured who are being treated at local hospitals and clinics."

Police said many more people remained unaccounted for, including fishermen whose boats were destroyed by the wave.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered a search and rescue operation following the quake-triggered tsunami, which also destroyed off-shore fishing boats in the area.

The quake prompted the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre to issue a tsunami warning in the Indian Ocean for Indonesia's Java and Sumatra islands and Australia's Christmas and Cococs islands.

A witness who identified herself as Teti said the quake triggered huge waves up to 2 metres high that swamped several hotels and homes on Pangandaran beach.

"I saw the big waves sweep away hotels and homes here on the beach area," Teti told Elshinta radio. "There were also many fishing boats swept away by the big waves."

She and other witnesses saw at least three people believed to be dead lying on Pangandaran beach, one of West Java's top tourist spots.

Yudhoyono, whose 21-month-old presidency has included repeated natural disasters including the 2004 tsunami, assured reporters that rescue workers were conducting search and rescue operations throughout the affected areas.

"I received reports from the Ciamis district chief that at least five people have died from the quake-triggered tsunami," Yudhoyono told reporters Monday evening at the presidential palace.

Local officials feared the death toll could skyrocket amid reports of unaccounted for people or victims trapped under debris from collapsed houses and hotels in the beach area, and rescue workers were having trouble reaching isolated areas.

"I received reports that an unspecified number of people are still missing and probably were swept away by the water, or they were trapped under rubble," Diding, an official at Pangandaran sub- district office, told dpa.

Hundreds of residents, mindful that in 2004 Aceh residents were oblivious to warning signs including receding water after a 9.1 earthquake struck offshore, fled in a panic to nearby hills Monday afternoon immediately after they were informed of a possible tsunami.

"We were in total panic and ran to the hills. Almost an entire village here was inundated by water," said Misman, a resident of Pangandaran, told Elshinta.

"What I see is that buildings on the southern coast have been damaged. Only concrete buildings are still standing," one local police officer told the Jakarta-based Metro TV.

Meteorology official Jajad, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said the quake's epicentre was in the Indian Ocean, about 266 kilometres of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, or about 366 kilometres south of Jakarta.

Elshinta radio reported that the quake was felt by residents from several cities in West Java province, but there were no immediate reports of damage inland.

The quake also was felt in Jakarta, especially by office workers in high-rise buildings, prompting some to evacuate to the streets. It was the latest in a series of powerful earthquakes to rock Indonesia in recent weeks.

On May 27, a strong earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale rocked Central Java's cultural city of Yogyakarta and nearby areas, killing around 6,000 people and injuring thousands of others.

Indonesia is located along the Pacific volcanic belt known as the Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanoes are common.

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra triggered a massive tsunami that slammed into nine countries and killed some 177,000 alone in Indonesia's Aceh province.

bangkok post today

[Scott]

I am wondering if the Tsunami alert system was functioning properly. Since Thailand wasn't affected, that could mean no alert sent, but were the people in power aware of it and was a decision made and how long did it take?

[Jai Dee]

More than 200 dead in Indonesian tsunami: health ministry

Pangandaran, Indonesia - At least 201 people have been killed by a tsunami that smashed into the southern coast of Indonesia's Java island following an undersea earthquake, the health ministry said Tuesday.

"According to our data, 201 have died, 295 are injured and 125 are missing," said Rustam Pakaya, the head of the crisis centre at Indonesia's health ministry.

He said the figures were compiled from six districts across Central and West Java provinces.

The official added that 20 tonnes of medical supplies and food had been sent to the affected areas from the capital Jakarta.

Rescue workers have warned they fear many more people may be buried under the rubble left in the wake of the tsunami, which landed on Monday afternoon after an undersea earthquake hit off the coast of densely-populated Java.

Indonesia was the nation hardest hit by the devastating December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami catastrophe, which killed around 220,000 people across the region -- and 168,000 in Aceh alone.

The latest natural disaster follows a quake which hit nearby Yogyakarta and Central Java on May 27, killing some 5,800 people.

Source: The Nation - 18 July 2006

[NBT TV Phuket]

Mini-video: Tourists on Patong beach still confident in Thai Early Warning System

To see or download mini-video, go to http://www.thaisnews.com/news_detail.php?newsid=180009

from Andaman News TV11 (VHF dial) + Radio Thailand FM90.5 Phuket City, both broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, 8.30am Tuesday 18th July 2006 & www.Thaisnews.com { Our news text and mini-videos can be freely copied and posted on other websites, but please give credit to Andaman News TV11 Phuket}

Following the tsunami in Java, south Indonesia, yesterday afternoon, the Patong beach last night was still crowded with tourists. They said they heard of the tsunami news but knew that it would not affect Patong or the Thai coast of the Andaman Sea, and that they are confident that they would be warned if there was any danger. Business operators in Soi Bangla also closely followed the news and believed that it would not affect them, as they also said they were confident of the Early Warning System installed. Some tourists went out to the beach to observe the current and water levels. On the authority’s side, after being notified of the 7.4 richter earthquake from the National Disaster Warning Centre in Bangkok, all governors from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, ordered their officials to standby for possible emergencies, even though it was quoted as not expected to affect Thailand.

(We express our condolences to those in Indonesia were affected)

[Jai Dee]

Commander of Royal Thai Navy affirms that no sign of tsunami in Thailand during this time

Commander of Royal Thai Navy General Sathiraphan Kayyanond (สถิรพันธุ์ เกยานนท์) has affirmed that tsunami will not take place in Thailand during this time.

A tsunami crashed into beach resorts and fishing villages on Java island of Indonesia, killing more than 300 people and leaving more than 160 missing after bulletins failed to reach the region because no warning system was in place. Gen Sathiraphan said that according to the Meteorological Department, there is no sign of tsunami that may occur in the premises of Thailand.

He further said that the Royal Thai Navy will be able to provide warnings of possible Tsunami as well as evacuate residents out if a Tsunami does occur.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 18 July 2006