Quake Rattles Western Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, but witnesses reported only minor shaking on land.
The quake was centered in the northern Indian Ocean, more than 400 km (250 miles) off northern Sumatra and more than 29 km (18 miles) beneath the surface. Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning for the area, but the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a massive wave like the one that devastated the region in 2004.
The quake hit at 12:37 a.m. Wednesday (1:37 p.m. Tuesday ET), according to the USGS. There were no immediate reports of damage, and hotel clerks contacted by CNN reported only mild shaking. One front desk clerk in Aceh said a few hotel guests went outside when the quake hit, but most weren't awakened.
The region is highly active seismically, and a magnitude 9.1 quake in December 2004 generated a tsunami that killed people as far away as eastern Africa. The death toll from the combined disaster topped 280,000 in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
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Indonesia, Tsunami Warning
By Andrea Devaro on January 10th, 2012
Indonesia is under a tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake hit off the western coast of Sumatra Island early Wednesday.
The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered 18 miles beneath the ocean floor and struck 260 miles off the coast of Aceh province.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. A local police spokesman told the Associated Press that there did not appear to be any serious damage.
The earthquake lasted for about 30 seconds, and residents in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, rushed out of their homes in fear, an AFP reporter said. They later returned indoors.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement saying “a destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist,” but warned local agencies within 100 kilometers of the epicenter to watch for a local tsunami.
An official with Indonesia’s geological agency confirmed that a tsunami warning had been issued along the Sumatran coast.
Indonesia is part of the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcano eruptions occur. On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean just off Sumatra’s west coast. It triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14 countries, with the highest number in the Banda Aceh province.
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So far no one is injured and their is no threat of a tsunami. That is the good news, but I am hoping that his this is not going to be preamble of things to come. I heard about this out of sheer chance. I was tooling around Intellicast.com for info about weather tomorrow when I turned on the earthquake layers and I noticed the quakes. I found info and I decided to post it to you guys. Of course there is some fools going on about AHH 2012!