Earthquake strikes off Sumatra

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

An earthquake of magnitude 7.9 has struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The epicentre was about 50km off the coast, near the city of Padang. There are reports of damage to buildings but it is unclear if there are casualties.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8282670.stm

---

Wholly unrelated to the Samoa one. :shrug:

[Gman]

1. Info here... 7.9

Region:                            SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Geographic coordinates:             0.797S,  99.925E
Magnitude:                        7.9 Mw
Depth:                            85 km
Universal Time (UTC):             30 Sep 2009  10:16:10
Time near the Epicenter:          30 Sep 2009  17:16:10
Local standard time in your area: 30 Sep 2009  10:16:10

Location with respect to nearby cities:
  50 km (31 miles) WNW (290 degrees) of Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia
 225 km (140 miles) SW (229 degrees) of Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia
 305 km (189 miles) SSE (156 degrees) of Sibolga, Sumatra, Indonesia  480 km (298 miles) SSW (204 degrees) of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

[SpiralHawk]

2. That's two whoppers

Bingo Bango Bong

[dipsydoodle]

3. From 9 years ago - June 2000.

Sumatra: Caught between two plates.

The violent earthquake that shattered Sumatra is the result of the island's precarious position, perched on the edge of a tectonic plate.

Just off Sumatra's south-western coast, two plates meet. The oceanic plate is being thrust under the island and its grinding motion sends periodic seismic tremors through the region.

Sumatra forms part of the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire", a circle of violent earthquakes and volcanoes around the ocean's fringes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/778274.stm

[Steerpike]

4. Just heard

there have been deaths and damage in somoa...catastrophe for the people on the islands...

[SpiralHawk]

5. The Ring of Fire

[Odin2005]

6. Uh-Oh!

[Wednesdays]

7. There was a bad tsunami yesterday, is there another one?

:scared:

Answering my own question: apparently not, thank God.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6190000/newsid_6193700/6193729.stm

"There was no danger of a tsunami being caused by the tremor."

[FirstLight]

8. wow...lots of movement on those plates, man

I wonder when the pressure will happen to move to the East side of the Pacific plate? ...is the west coast ready for their turn?

Two HUGE earthquakes in 2 days, wow...where's the volcanoes?

sorry, but I am somewhat of a science geek when it comes to these things. I know the human loss and damage is awful, but it is so amazing to see the power of the earth and it's ever-moving crust... and to think that in relative terms, the earth movements are small in comparison to the size of the plates...
but 8.0 and 7.9 are nothing to sniff at! geez!

[Poll_Blind]

9. I was just wondering this myself. Hopefully the West Coast won't get their turn- at least not...

...like they're getting it over on the west side of the plate.

PB

[Hell Hath No Fury]

10. The San Andreas is a hundred years or so --

over due for its Big One. It's just a matter of time for us. :scared:

Meanwhile, all we can do is make sure our earthquake kits are up to date and our emergency plans are in place. These events are always a good reminder for us here in CA to take care of business.

[FirstLight]

12. no shit...

a 7.5 or higher, even oin a remote area off the coast of mexico or alaska could be devastating itself. Not to mention the Bay Area or LA (which are totally overdue, BTW)

I live on the CA/NV border and shudder at the thought of the avalanches, etc HERE... :scared:

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. At least 75 dead, thousands trapped in rubble

same link as OP:

At least 75 people are dead and thousands are trapped under rubble after a strong earthquake shook the island of Sumatra, officials say.
...
There are reports of widespread destruction to buildings and bridges.
...
Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said the death toll was likely to continue to rise sharply, as so many buildings including schools, shops and hotels had collapsed.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's crisis centre, said a hospital was among the collapsed buildings.

[dipsydoodle]

13. Now updated to over 450

At least 464 people are now known to have been died in a powerful quake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday, the government says.

Rescuers struggled in heavy rain on Thursday to find survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings. The death toll is expected to rise.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8284208.stm

[dipsydoodle]

14. Death toll now 770

Almost 2,400 people have been injured, and the death toll is expected to rise further, officials say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8284208.stm includes video option with disturbing images warning.