Sumatra: more aftershocks as experts warn of a more devastating quake
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has recorded at least 25 major aftershocks in the wake of yesterday's massive earthquake that struck at 3.38 pm off the coast of Aceh. The 8.7 quake generated a tsunami alert in the Indian Ocean as far as the coast of Africa, but no major tidal wave was reported. The alert was lifted in the evening.
Aftershocks ranged in magnitude from 5.1 to 8.5 on the Richter scale. The last one, measuring 5.6 struck at about 10 am today, some 623 kilometres off Simeuleu district. The same area was hit on 26 December 2004. Some 230,000 were killed in Asia, and 14 countries were affected around the Indian Ocean.
In Indonesia, where the quake was centred, five people were killed, including a man who died of a heart attack, and four more were injured when a building collapsed.
The much-feared tsunami only materialised in the Aceh towns of Sabang and Meulaboh, and in West Sumatra's Nias Islands, with heights reaching a maximum of one meter. No damages were reported.
Life is back to normalcy in scores of cities in Aceh province, despite a critical situation on Simeuleu Island, where dozens of patients in the local hospital refuse to return to their rooms and dormitory.
Meanwhile, experts warn that Wednesday's major quake could trigger further frictions on the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, resulting in more quakes.
"Thus people living along western Sumatra coasts, starting from Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Bengkulu and Lampung must stay alert," warned Dadang Permana, head of the BMKG in Bengkulu.
Mentawai is under close watch. Nine hours from Padang, it is the most likely place to bear the brunt should another earthquake strike. Mentawai is a group of small islands, inhabited by Christians, including Catholics.
The massive earthquake also affected the six Thai provinces: Phuket, Phang-Nga, Krabi, Trang, Satool and Ranong along the Andaman coast.
Local people and tourists in Pa-tong, Karon and Kamala beaches moved up the hill for safety, expecting four-metre waves.
In Bangkok, those who are working at the 38-storey building felt the severe shaking and fled the building.
"We practise tsunami evacuation twice a year so the people know what to do in case of tsunami," Phuket governor Tri Akradej said.
Asst. Prof. Pennung Wanitchai, a seismologist with the Asian Institute of Technology, estimated yesterday that the earthquake is less powerful than that of 2004. Despite the great intensity, this earthquake is different from that of 2004, which was Dip-Slip strike (vertical). This one was a flat strike (horizontal).
Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre warned of more aftershocks, urging people to be careful but not to panic in the next couple of days.
In Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, and other parts of the country, residents felt slight tremors from the Sumatra earthquake.
Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) issued a tsunami warning, which people heeded moving to safer ground.
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) also has disconnected power supply to coastal areas and the railway control room says all train services in coastal lines stopped due to the current situation.
Deputy Minister Nirmala Kothalawala allowed vehicles to use the newly opened Southern Highway free of charge. Many coastal areas and tourist resorts were evacuated.
Tall buildings shook in Malaysia and Singapore, forcing occupants to leave, whilst a tsunami alert was issued in Bangladesh and India, but did not cause any real problems or panic among the population.
(Mathias Hariyadi, Weena Kowitwanij and Melani Manel Perera contributed to the article)
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30/12/2004
