http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/aftershocks-hit-sumatra/2007/09/13/1189276859753.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Aftershocks hit Sumatra Sri Lankans rush for higher ground after a tsunami alert triggered by the Sumatra quake. Photo: AP Latest related coverage a.. Photos b.. Video c.. Slideshow: Quake hits Indonesia September 13, 2007 - 2:00PM Huge aftershocks rumbled across Indonesia's Sumatra island today, as rescue teams sped to the area after a massive 8.4-magnitude earthquake killed at least six people. The follow-on shocks from yesterday's initial quake, including one as strong as magnitude 7.8 this morning, sparked tsunami warnings across the region, but were later cancelled. The second tremor terrified already panicked residents, who has spent the night outdoors afraid of being buried alive. Dozens of people were injured in last night's quake, and officials say the death toll could rise. In many places, phone lines and electricity are down. The initial quake was strong enough to shake buildings in Thailand and Malaysia, and set off a tsunami alert as far away as Australia and eastern Africa - raising memories of the December 2004 tsunami catastrophe that killed 220,000 people. The Indonesian healthy ministry's crisis centre said six people had been confirmed dead and at least 38 had been injured in yesterday's quake, which hit underwater some 300km off the Sumatran town of Bengkulu. "My wife was washing the dishes and my two sons were taking a bath," said Samsul Anwar, sitting in a tent at the main hospital in the town. He had rushed home when he felt the ground shake violently. "The roof of the house had collapsed, hitting my wife in the head," Anwar said, comforting his son lying injured on a stretcher. "She is dead." Fearing any further damage, hospital authorities have moved intensive care patients and others to outdoor tents. "I was running to avoid collapsing walls but I fell down and my shoulder hit a rock," said another patient, 26-year-old Hari. "People were afraid because we heard the tsunami warning, so we were trying to get quickly to higher ground." 'People were really panicking' Kirk Willcox, working in Sumatra's city of Padang for tsunami-assist organisation SurfAid International, said this morning's quake occurred just after 7am local time and felt much stronger than last night's. "They're calling it an aftershock, but the epicentre must have been much closer," said Mr Willcox. "It started slow at first and it really got intense. People were really panicking. "The one last night didn't even phase me. This one, I still had adrenaline surging through me. I just feel like I'm coming normal (now)." Mr Willcox, speaking from the road outside his house an hour after the quake, said neighbours had run out of their homes with their children. "People were really scared, crouched on the ground. There's still a lot of people outside their houses." Mr Willcox said lots of people had headed for the hills surrounding Padang this morning after a new tsunami alert was issued. "There's 400,000 people living in what is called the red zone - a danger zone because it's got a couple of rivers running into it," he said. "If a tsunami does come, it will funnel up through the rivers." Quake felt in Malaysia The powerful quake, which came on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, toppled buildings and split open others in at least one town, Mukomuko, on Sumatra's western coast, local police said. The US Geological Survey yesterday gradually upgraded the strength of the quake from 7.9 to 8.2 to 8.4. Any quake over 7.0 is considered strong enough to cause massive destruction and heavy loss of life. The quake was powerful enough to 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. In Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people along the coast went running for higher ground after the government issued a tsunami warning last night. "Around half-a-million have left their homes," said Ashrad Shamim, a top official from the district of Chittagong city. "There's a panic." Tsunami alerts were also issued last night in India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Indonesian authorities briefly issued two new alerts this morning, and Australia issued one for its Indian Ocean territories. Indonesia lost 168,000 people in the province of Aceh alone in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. The country sits on the volatile Ring of Fire, a massive zone of volcanic instability that encircles the Pacific. 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