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Geologists warns of more aftershocks in Indonesia's Sumatra
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 13 - 09 - 2007


A series of powerful aftershocks rattled
Indonesia's Sumatra Island Thursday, panicking thousands of residents
who stayed outdoors overnight after an initial magnitude-8.4
earthquake left at least nine people dead and dozens injured,
officials said, according to DPA.
Thursday's first quake caused extensive damage in the city of
Padang on the western coast of Sumatra, where hundreds of buildings
collapsed or were damaged in the city centre.
"Many buildings collapsed after this morning's quake," Padang
Mayor Fauzi Bahar told the Jakarta-based Elshinta radio. "We're still
trying to find out about victims."
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta twice issued
tsunami warnings Thursday morning after two aftershocks hit at 6:49
am (2349 GMT Wednesday) and 8:26 am (0126 GMT) as rescue workers were
speeding to affected areas to assess the destruction from the
magnitude-8.4 tremor on Wednesday night.
Both tsunami warnings were lifted after no waves materialized
following the aftershocks - the first measuring 7.8 and the second
6.7 on the Richter scale, officials said.
The US Geological Survey said the first quake Thursday was centred
about 200 kilometres north-west of Bengkulu, a coastal city in
south-western Sumatra. It occurred at a shallow depth of about 10
kilometres, and it could be felt as far away as Singapore, where it
reportedly caused tall buildings to sway.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii warned that the first
quake Thursday had the potential to generate a regional tsunami along
coasts within 600 miles of its epicentre. It advised authorities to
take immediate action to evacuate coastal areas.
The second aftershock was centred 130 kilometres south-west of the
West Sumatran coastal district town of Painan at a depth of 46
kilometres, the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.
Wednesday's earthquake shook South-East Asia at 6:10 pm (1110
GMT), collapsing hundreds of homes and buildings across Sumatra. That
tremor triggered a small non-destructive tsunami off Padang on the
west-central coast of Sumatra, the Indonesian island ravaged by the
2004 tsunami.
The first quake on Wednesday evening was the world's most powerful
so far this year. In the hours since, more than 30 aftershocks
ranging from magnitude 4.9 to 7.8 strong have shaken the area,
prompting thousands of frightened people to pile into trucks and seek
shelter on high ground.
Geologists warned residents across the coastal areas of West
Sumatra to remain alert as more strong aftershocks that could produce
tsunamis were predicted for the next two weeks.
On Wednesday, a tsunami watch was issued for wide areas of the
region and nations as far away as Sri Lanka. Indonesia issued a
tsunami warning and a second one after an aftershock struck less than
four hours later. Both were later called off.
Rustam Pakaya of the Indonesian Health Ministry Crisis Centre in
Jakarta told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that nine people were killed
and nearly 50 others injured in Bengkulu and West Sumatra provinces
in Wednesday's quake. He said he feared the death count to rise.
Emergency services personnel were working as fast as possible to
reach people who may be trapped under collapsed buildings, Pakaya
said, adding that many of the injured were being treated in the open
air amid fears that further tremors would bring down weakened
hospital buildings.
In the Mentawai islands off the west coast of West Sumatra, the
fate of about 20,000 inhabitants remained unknown after high waves
were reported following Thursday's powerful tremblors, the Kompas
daily newspaper reported.
"Telecommunications and transportation were cut off following a
small tsunami this (Thursday) morning when up to 3-metre waves came
onshore," Mentawai's sub-district chief Eliza Murty was quoted as
saying.
"Mentawai is now totally isolated," Eliza said, adding that the
quakes destroyed thousands of homes as well as a harbour pier.
Thousands more homes and buildings across Sumatra were flattened
by the quakes and aftershocks, which hit at the beginning of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In many places, phone lines and
electricity service remained down.
A United Nations relief team flew to Bengkulu Thursday morning
with humanitarian supplies and planned to conduct a recovery
assessment of the area. Bengkulu was also heavily damaged by an
earthquake several years ago.
Wednesday's quake was powerful enough to sway buildings and slosh
the water out of swimming pools in Jakarta, hundreds of kilometres
away, and scare office workers into racing out of their high-rise
towers in Malaysia and Singapore.
That quake was initially measured at 8.2 on the Richter scale
before being raised to 8.4 by the US Geological Survey.
The tremblors, repeated tsunami warnings and public panic were
largely related to December 26, 2004, when a 9.0-magnitude-
earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14
Indian Ocean countries, claiming 177,000 people alone in Indonesia's
Aceh province, which lies on the northern tip of Sumatra.


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