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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Two quakes kill at least 70 in Sumatra |
| 2007-03-06 |
| Two strong earthquakes hit Indonesia's Sumatra island on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people and sending emergency operations into full swing to deal with dozens of injured. The tremors were felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore, where several buildings were evacuated. The first quake of magnitude 6.3 was felt in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang at around 11 a.m., sparking panic among seaside residents who feared it might trigger a tsunami. A second 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the same area two hours later, causing more panic. However, there was no immediate tsunami warning after the quakes, which were on land. Indonesia's cabinet secretary Sudi Silalahi said 70 people had been killed. The United States Geological Survey said the first quake's epicentre was around 420 km (260 miles) from Singapore. The Indonesian national quake centre measured the quake at 5.8 on the Richter scale. Some buildings collapsed and several homes and other buildings were badly damaged by the tremors that sent several people scrambling for safety, including 200-300 patients who ran out of a hospital in Padang, a Reuters witness said. Citing reports from regencies the mayor of Padang, Fauzi Bahar, said 14 people had died in Solok town, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Padang, 16 in Batusangkar and one in Payakumbuh. "Many have calmed down and are returning home, but we can still see some traffic jams around the city," Bahar told Reuters. "The numbers may increase, not every area provided the report." The mayor of Solok said hospitals were overwhelmed with dozens of injured. "Our priority is to handle the injured ones, including their families. We have set up six tents at a soccer field as emergency posts," Syamsu Rahim, the mayor of Solok, told Reuters. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 I don't find this surprising at all. I expect it will take the Earth ten to fifteen years to adjust to the major earthquake on the trench-line in 2005. We'll see lots of earthquakes and volcanic activity, some of it lasting decades. This isn't unusual. I'm surprised the Indonesian government doesn't tell its people that this is normally what happens after major, deep earthquakes where one plate is plunging under another. Of course, that assumes that there are actually trained, educated geologists in Indonesia... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-03-06 15:55 |
| #2 Hmmmmmmmm...almost like it's God's will or sumthin... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-03-06 09:17 |
| #1 Not one dime until they reject islam. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2007-03-06 07:12 |