'Small' tsunami detected in Indian Ocean after 8.7 temblor

[zaitsev]

CNN) -- Fifty people were killed and about 300 homes were destroyed on the island of Nias, near the epicenter of a massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Indonesia on Monday, a government official there told CNN.

About 100 people were injured, and many others were believed buried under rubble, Agus Mendrova said.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 people were running about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) to hilltops for safety in case of a tsunami, he said.

Meanwhile, a tidal gauge has detected a small tsunami in the Indian Ocean several hundred miles southwest of the earthquake.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that an instrument near the Cocos Islands recorded the passing wave, but the magnitude of the "small" tsunami was not clear.

The agency said no major tsunami has been observed near epicenter of the earthquake which was upgraded from a magnitude of 8.2 to 8.7. An aftershock measuring 6.0 struck 30 minutes after the initial quake.

Scientists say the threat of a tsunami striking Indonesia and Thailand may have passed because a wave like the one that hit the region on December 26 would have reached those countries almost immediately. Monday's quake struck at 11:09 a.m. ET (1609 GMT).

Officials in Kuala Lumpur issued an official tsunami warning for the west coast of Malaysia and the east coast of Sumatra. The warning has a six-hour window, and is based on the December earthquake, which struck at 9 a.m. local time and was followed four hours later by the tsunami.

A damaging tsunami is still possible and should be "presumed," said Robert Cessaro of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The quake may have sent its energy further to the south than last year's quake, which measured above 9 and ruptured to the north, he said.

"So all that pressure to the north would have been relieved" by that quake, said Cessaro. "We think this event probably ruptured to the south, with the beam of energy probably propagated to the south toward Mauritius and the Rodrigues."

Residents of coastal regions around the Indian Ocean have been rapidly evacuating after the earthquake .

In Thailand, thousands of people in the six provinces affected by the December 26 tsunami were moving to higher ground or 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) inland, the governor of Phang Nga province said.

Sri Lanka also issued a warning that the earthquake may spawn a tsunami that would reach Sri Lanka's shores by about 3 a.m. Tuesday (4 p.m. ET Monday) and urged those living in low lying areas to move to higher ground.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recommended residents within 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of the epicenter evacuate coastal regions.

The quake was centered on the same fault line where the December 26 earthquake launched a tsunami that killed at least 175,000 people.

There was a report of heavy damage on Simeulue Island in Indonesia, said Bernd Schell, head of tsunami operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Prass Prawoto, an aid worker in Banda Aceh -- which was severely damaged by the December 26 tsunami and quake -- said Indonesians were moving to higher ground, fearing a repeat of the earlier tsunami. But, he said, he had not heard of any injuries.

CNN producer Kathy Quiano, watching television reports from Jakarta, said there was widespread panic in Banda Aceh, as residents rushed inland. Electricity and phone service were out in major sections of the city.

A number of traffic accidents occurred as a result, and people were injured, she said, citing local television reports. "People are closely watching for the water that may come in," she said.

Charles McCreary, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, said scientists believed another tsunami is possible, but he could not be certain if the quake, which was 203 kilometers (126 miles) from Sibolga on Sumatra Island, would cause another deadly wave.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapc...ake/index.html

[atholon]

Wow another one.

[DevilDog#1]

Shiver me timbers!!

[NaughtyPerry]

i hope it isnt...

[BADDOG]

This is just so awful!!!

Regards

[-Tigger-]

well looks like no wave but they are been warned of a third quake poor people

[.Simon.]

yea ive heard about this. people over there are getting it really bad.

[Hellfighter]

think we all will hear more of these Tsunami coming months 7 years. going to be a every news' sea bed i think is moving more then ever best people live inland about 10-20mil from the beach area safer

[DevilDog#1]

Check out the the volcanoes that became active this month!!

EDIT: And also this

EDIT AGAIN: Oh this one shows excellent map.

[atholon]

The end is near!!!

[Lucky]

dang! double trouble.... geez mother nature leave thes poor people alone!

[Hellfighter]

Originally posted by DevilDog#1
Check out the the volcanoe's that became active this month!!

man 24ea in march 2005 that is a lot of them going off.


01.) Anatahan, Mariana Islands 2005 March 22, 2005 16.35°N, 145.67°E

02.) Bagana, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea 2005, ongoing March 22, 2005 6.14S, 155.19E

03.) Karymsky, Kamchatka, Russia 2005, ongoing March 22, 2005 54.0N, 159.5E

04.) Kilauea, Hawai'i, USA 2005, ongoing March 22, 2005 19.452N, 155.292W

05.) Kliuchevskoi, Kamchatka, Russia 2005, ongoing March 22, 2005 56.06N, 160.64E

06.) Manam, Papua New Guinea 2005 March 22, 2005 4.1S, 145.0E

07.) Santa Maria, Guatemala 2005, ongoing March 22, 2005 32.88N, 131.1E

08.) Shiveluch, Kamchatka, Russia 2005, ongoing March 22, 2005 56.65N, 161.36E

09.) Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, West Indies 2004 March 22, 2005 16.7N, 62.2W

10.) Mount St. Helens, USA 2005 March 22, 2005 46.2N, 122.2W

11.) Tungurahua, Ecuador 2005, ongoing March 22, 2005 1.467S, 78.44W

12.) Chikurachki, Kurile island, Russia 2003 March 15, 2005 50.325°N, 155.46°E

13.) Colima, Mexico 2005, ongoing March 15, 2005 19.51N, 103.62W

14.) Popocatepetl, Mexico 2004 March 15, 2005 19.0N, 98.6W

15.) Rabaul, Papua New Guinea 2004 March 15, 2005 4.27S, 152.20E

16.) Suwanose-Jima Ryukyu Islands, Japan 2005 March 15, 2005 29.53N, 129.72E

17.) Ulawun, New Britain, Papua New Guinea 2003 March 15, 2005 5.1S, 151.3E

18.) Atka, Aluetian Islands, United States July 11, 2003 March 08, 2005 52.381°N, 174.154°W

19.) Egon, Flores Island, Indonesia February 14, 2005 March 08, 2005 8.7S, 122.55E

20.) Fuego, Guatemala ongoing March 08, 2005 14.5N, 90.9W

21.) Pacaya, Guatemala July 5, 2003 March 08, 2005 14.4N, 90.6W

22.) Spurr, Southwestern Alaska, USA ongoing March 08, 2005 61.299N, 152.251W

23.) Veniaminof, Alaska Peninsula, USA February 11, 2005 March 08, 2005 56.17N, 159.38W

24.) Karangetang, Siau Island, Indonesia September 28, 2003 March 01, 2005 2.78N, 125.48E