http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/13/asia/quake.php
Two more powerful earthquakes hit Sumatra By Peter Gelling and Seth Mydans Thursday, September 13, 2007 PADANG, Indonesia: Two more strong earthquakes shook the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Thursday, following the massive quake that hit on Wednesday, but the area escaped a major tsunami like the one that devastated the region in 2004. Just over a dozen people were reported to have died in the earthquakes, although hundreds of buildings were damaged in the coastal cities of Padang and Bengkulu in western Sumatra. The shaking continued throughout the day Thursday, keeping residents on edge. Some fled to higher ground away from the coastline; many more camped outdoors in the streets and parks. The first and biggest of the shocks, with a magnitude of 8.4 on Wednesday evening, was the third in a cluster of earthquakes that measured greater than 8.0 in the area in the past three years. That cluster could be a signal that the western coast of Sumatra, which stretches 1,800 kilometers, or 1,100 miles, could face still more danger, scientists say. "I am more convinced than ever that we are going to be seeing a significantly larger earthquake in the area," said Kerry Sieh, a seismologist from the California Institute of Technology who has spent several decades studying earthquake risk around Sumatra. "These three big earthquakes, they just encircle this big patch that has not failed, a big strong part of the fault that hasn't broken yet," he said. "The million-dollar question is, is it over?" The major earthquake on Wednesday was followed by a series of aftershocks, one of which, on Thursday morning, was a serious earthquake on its own. It struck about 320 kilometers northwest of the epicenter of the earlier earthquake and had a magnitude of 7.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed shortly before noon by another significant earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1. As the earth shook along the Sumatran coast, tsunami warnings were repeatedly issued and then withdrawn by governments in Asian and African countries along the Indian Ocean. The range of nations on the alert reflected the damage done in December 2004, when a tsunami took an estimated 230,000 lives on the Indian Ocean rim, with the heaviest death toll in Aceh Province in northern Sumatra. In recent months, the city of Padang had stepped up a campaign of public education, drawing on the lessons of Aceh. Residents there headed for higher ground in a relatively orderly way, one earthquake monitor said. "A few people panicked, but the city is under control," said Patra Rina Dewi, who heads Kogami, an organization that has been educating residents about the dangers of earthquakes and tsunamis. "Our mayor was on the radio giving instructions to the community and to agencies about what they should do." His reports were relayed by mosques using loudspeakers normally used to call Muslims to prayer. But a radio and Internet early warning system installed in Padang in response to the 2004 tsunami failed to work. Roads and communications were damaged, making it difficult to assess the full scope of the damage and casualties. Bengkulu, a city of 1.2 million, was the closest large community to the latest earthquakes and it was the worst damaged. The epicenter of the first was 100 kilometers southwest of the city; the second was 200 kilometers northwest. Vice Governor Syamlan said 10 people died in Bengkulu. He said 2,406 buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged, as well as 13 bridges and roads. A local journalist, Mardyansyah, said 10,000 people were living in hastily erected refugee camps. The ground continues to shake, and they are afraid to return home for fear of another major shock, he said. "People are running out of food, water, clothes and medicine," he said. "Many are injured, but they cannot be taken to the hospital because part of the hospital building has collapsed." The hospital in Padang was also damaged, and patients were camping out in tents in the parking lot Thursday. One woman gave birth in the parking lot. One resident of Bengkulu, Yunus, 46, loaded his family into a car and fled one of the worst-hit areas, Mukumuku. "The first earthquake was so strong," he said. "The ground was shaking and we all ran from our houses." In the city of Padang, just two buildings were officially reported to have collapsed, with another 159 heavily damaged. Despite the relatively light damage, many residents of Padang appeared traumatized by the continuing strong shocks. "We are very stressed," said Wawan, 36. "Every time we think it's safe, another tremor rolls underneath our feet, and we don't know what to expect." Peter Gelling reported from Padang and Seth Mydans from Jakarta. Andrew C. Revkin contributed reporting from New York. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
