Tsunami scare spread across Asia
AFP reports that the strong earthquake off the coast of Indonesia triggered tsunami alerts across Asia, causing
widespread panic in countries where over 270,000 people were killed by giant waves just three months ago.
The undersea quake measuring over 8.0 on the Richter Scale prompted India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand
to join Indonesia in issuing tsunami alerts. Unconfirmed television reports said "tens of people" had been killed on the remote
Indonesian island of Nias, the AFP report said.
Indonesian and Thais officials gave the all clear and called for calm
However nearly three hours after the quake struck off the northwest Indonesian coast, Indonesian and Thai
meteorological officials gave the all clear and said it appeared the quake had not caused any tsunami.
AFP qouted Chalermchai Akekantrong, deputy director general of Thailand's meteorological departmentas saying,
"If the tsunami were going to happen, it would have already happened."
The tremors rocked buildings in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. In the northern Indonesian
city of Banda Aceh, the place hardest hit by the December 26 tsunami, thousands fled their homes in panic the AFP report added.
Police called for calm and mosques across the Indonesian province of Aceh broadcast messages saying:
"Don't panic, there is no tsunami."
In northwestern Sri Lanka witnesses said people ran to temples and churches where bells were rung to warn
people to run to high ground. In the resorts of southwest Thailand holidaymakers fled hotels as television flashed warnings.
No casualty established as people fled to higher ground
Local officials on the Indonesian island of Nias close to the quake's epicenter said hundreds of houses had
collapsed in the capital Gumung Sitoli. Many were left trapped under buildings as thousands fled to higher ground.
"I can say that tens of people died but I cannot be sure," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy chief of the island
told Metro Television.
"The roads are broken and public facilities were damaged."
Sumatra hardly hit by December 26 quake
The Indonesian island of Sumatra bore the brunt of the December 26 quake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale, the
biggest earthquake for 40 years. The quake triggered giant waves 15 metres (50-feet) high that sped across the Indian Ocean at speeds of up
to 700 kilometres (430 miles) per hour and slammed into 11 countries.
The waves killed more than 273,000 people including over 220,000 in Indonesia, 30,000 in Sri Lanka, 10,000 in India
and 5,000 in Thailand. Over two million people displaced, and the world pledged over 10 billion dollars in aid.
Strong quake felt for 3 minutes
Monday's earthquake shook Indonesia's battered northern province of Aceh for around three minutes, an AFP reporter in
the capital Banda Aceh said.
Tremors were also felt in Padang, the capital of Indonesia's Sumatra province, where it downed powerlines, according
to Metro TV.
Taking no chances...
Officials in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand took no chances, issuing warnings and urging citizens living along
shorelines to evacuate their homes.
"We have asked the fishermen down the coast to move towards the interior," said C.V. Shanker, a tsunami
relief officer in India's southeastern Tamil Nadu state.
AFP also reported dramatic scenes in coastal cities and towns across the Indian Ocean.
"I'm trying to find my family, they are all women, they were very scared and ran out of the house," said one
man in Peurada village in Aceh province who was searching for his relatives on a motorcycle.
"I have put everything I own on the roof," he said.
|
DISASTER ALERT!!!
