Recent Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest

Puget Sound Region
There have been 3 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater in the area in the past 168 hours. The following are the 5 most recent:
*Sat September 29 7:45 am PDT 2.2
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Riverbend, WA
*Sat September 29 7:45 am PDT 2.2
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Riverbend, WA
*Mon September 24 12:37 am PDT 2.0
17 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Allyn-Grapeview, WA
Mount St. Helens Region
There have been 2 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater in the area in the past 168 hours. The following are the 5 most recent:
*Thu September 27 3:28 pm PDT 2.0
1 km (0 mi) southwest of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
*Thu September 27 11:19 am PDT 2.9
1 km (1 mi) southwest of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
State Of Washington Region
There have been 6 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater in the area in the past 168 hours. The following are the 5 most recent:
*Sat September 29 7:45 am PDT 2.2
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Riverbend, WA
*Sat September 29 7:45 am PDT2.2
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Riverbend, WA
*Sat September 29 5:00 am PDT 2.5
11 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Ashford, WA
*Thu September 27 3:28 pm PDT 2.0
1 km (0 mi) southwest of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
*Thu September 27 11:19 am PDT 2.9
1 km (1 mi) southwest of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
Northwest Region
There have been 8 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater in the area in the past 168 hours. The following are the 5 most recent:
*Sat September 29 7:45 am PDT 2.2
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Riverbend, WA
*Sat September 29 7:45 am PDT 2.2
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Riverbend, WA
*Sat September 29 5:00 am PDT 2.5
11 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Ashford, WA
*Thu September 27 3:28 pm PDT 2.0
1 km (0 mi) southwest of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
*Thu September 27 11:19 am PDT 2.9
1 km (1 mi) southwest of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
http://www.kirotv.com/quakewatch/index.html#
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RECENT EARTHQUAKES IN CALIFORNIA

There have been 23 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater in the area in the past 168 hours. The following are the 5 most recent:
*Sun September 30 2:14 am PDT 3.0
3 km (2 mi) east-northeast of Coronado, CA
*Sat September 29 6:03 pm PDT 2.1
8 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Idyllwild, CA
*Fri September 28 6:51 am PDT 3.1
16 km (10 mi) east-northeast of Temecula, CA
*Thu September 27 3:44 pm PDT 2.1
44 km (27 mi) northeast of Ensenada, Mexico
*Thu September 27 2:52 pm PDT 2.1
41 km (25 mi) southwest of Mexicali, Mexico
http://www.10news.com/quakewatch/index.html

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3.0 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes San Diego

SAN DIEGO A small earthquake shook San Diego early Sunday morning, but there were no reports of any damage or injuries.The magnitued 3.0 quake struck at 2:14 a.m. and was centered two miles north of Coronado and six miles south of San Diego, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey.There haven't been any reports of injuries or damage according to a dispatcher with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

http://cbs2.com/quake/local_story_273103230.html

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Strong Earthquakes Trigger Tsunami Worries

The Japan Meteorological Agency says a quake with preliminary magnitude of 7.4 has occurred near New Zealand at around 2:24 p.m. in Japan, but preliminary reports suggested the quake was too far offshore to be felt. The agency said in a statement that there may be chance of tsunami near the epicentre. A spokesman for Geoscience Australia said seismologists were not expecting any damage given the distance offshore. Volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin form the so-called Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and the location of the top 10 earthquakes in the world since 1900. All of the top 10 measured an 8.5 magnitude or above. Several hours earlier on Sunday, a strong earthquake swayed buildings on the Pacific island of Guam. No injuries, damage or tsunami were immediately reported. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake magnitude at 6.8 and said it occurred about 215 miles south-southeast of the U.S. territory of Guam. It had a depth of about 6.2 miles beneath the sea floor, according to the USGS. The Japan Meteorological Agency did not issue an official tsunami warning, but said there may be a chance of one near the epicenter. However, an official from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, or PTWC in Honolulu, Hawaii, said the quake probably did not create a tsunami, and the center had not received any reports of one. "It's very unlikely any destructive tsunami was created by this earthquake," said PTWC's assistant director, Stuart Weinstein. "It would have reached Guam by now." "We haven't received any reports of tsunami activity in Guam," he said. The earthquake was in an isolated part of the Pacific where they don't usually occur, according to Weinstein. It was probably felt in Guam as well as in Saipan, which is part of the U.S. commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Weinstein said. It's also possible it was felt in parts of Micronesia. The combined population of Guam and Saipan is about 225,000. "It was probably too far away from populated areas to cause much damage," Weinstein said. The Japanese agency has not received any reports of damage or tsunami, agency official Nobuo Fukuda said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/30/world/main3312000.shtml

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Volcanic eruption reported off of Yemen

TORONTO-A volcano has erupted on a tiny island off the coast of Yemen, spewing lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air, a Canadian naval vessel near the island in the Red Sea reported Sunday. The Yemeni government asked NATO to assist in searching for survivors. Ken Allan, a Navy spokesman, said a NATO fleet just outside the territorial waters of the island Jazirt Atta-Ir reported seeing a "catastrophic volcanic eruption" at 7 p.m. local time. The 2-mile-long island is about 70 miles off the coast of Yemen."At this time, the entire island is aglow with lava and magma as it pours down into the sea. We do not have confirmation of how many people were on this island at the time of the eruption," Allan said in an e-mail."The lava is spewing hundreds of feet into the air, with the volcanic ash also (rising) a thousand feet in the air," Allan said.The Canadian Armed Forces said they are trying to locate nine people believed to be at sea after the Yemen coast guard requested help.The NATO fleet was sailing toward the Suez Canal when it spotted the eruption. The government of Yemen asked NATO to assist in the search for survivors and the closet ship, the HMCS Toronto, is heading toward the island.Yemen is a poor tribal Sunni Muslim country at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071001/ap_on_re_mi_ea/yemen_volcano

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Moderate quake jolts Tokyo region, injures two

TOKYO-A moderate earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale jolted the Tokyo region early Monday, injuring two people, officials said. It struck on the start of the day Japan, which experiences about 20 percent of the world's major quakes, was introducing a world-first early warning system for earthquakes.The quake occurred at 2:21 am (1721 GMT), just hours before the system swung into operation.It was centred in Kanagawa prefecture just south of the Japanese capital and 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) underground, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.Two people were injured in the quake but neither was in a serious condition, according to a crisis management official at the Kanagawa prefectural government."A 60-year-old woman had her left shoulder dislocated as she fell in a hallway of her house," municipal official Ryoichi Hoshi said.A 60-year-old man was also sent to hospital after he felt sick from the shock of the tremor, Hoshi said."There have been no major aftershocks from the first quake but we are still on alert," he said.Some train services were temporarily disrupted but they have returned normal. Television footage showed a bridge shaking from the quake, which could also be felt in the heart of Tokyo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070930/sc_afp/japanquake_070930233040

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Indonesia raises alert status on Java volcano

JAKARTA-Indonesian scientists stepped up the alert level for a volcano in East Java and told people to stay away from the crater amid fears it is building up to an eruption. The alert for Mount Kelut was raised to the third of a four-level warning system, the vulcanology office website said Sunday.It was based on recordings of increased seismic activity as well as rising temperatures in the crater lake and the shifting chemical composition of the water.The office advised people to maintain a five-kilometre (three-mile) safety zone around the crater of Mount Kelut, or also known as Mount Kelud, and told residents to be prepared to evacuate at the first sign of any eruption.The alert status had already been raised one step on September 11.Although its slopes are sparsely inhabited, the peak is a popular domestic tourist destination and is located on a densely-populated plain.The 1,731-metre (5,712-foot) volcano last blew in 1990.It has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 1500, including around 10,000 when it erupted in 1568.The vulcanology office said that between September 26 and 29, 54 vulcanic earthquakes and nine tectonic temblors had been recorded, and signs were that their epicentre was moving closer to the surface.The lake on top of the volcano has also changed from its habitual greenish aspect into milky white, and gas is coming out, the office said.It said the chemical concentrate in the water had risen significantly over the previous months and the temperature of the lake was steadily rising.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070930/sc_afp/indonesiavolcano_070930215923

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Magnitude 7.4 quake hits near New Zealand

WELLINGTON-A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 hit some 500 km (300 miles) southwest of New Zealand on Sunday, but there were no reports of damage and authorities discounted the risk of a major tsunami. The quake occurred at around 6:24 p.m. local time, and was felt throughout the south of New Zealand's South Island, said Warwick Smith of state agency GNS Science."There was initially some concern there may have been a tsunami, but that possibility has now been discounted," Smith said.The quake was near to the Auckland Islands, a group of seven uninhabited islands 467 km south of South Island.A police spokeswoman in Invercargill, a city at the bottom of the South Island, said: "It didn't feel that strong to me: many of the people in the station didn't even feel it."Japan's Meteorological Agency put the quake's magnitude at 7.4, while Geoscience Australia said it was 7.6.A spokesman for Geoscience Australia said seismologists were expecting no damage given the distance offshore and might review the magnitude figure.Volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin form the so-called Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and the location of the top 10 earthquakes in the world since 1900. All of the top 10 measured an 8.5 magnitude or above.Earlier on Sunday, a strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.1 swayed buildings on the Pacific island of Guam, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami alert was issued.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070930/ts_nm/new_zealand_quake_dc_3

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Quakes rattle Auckland Islands, Guam

WELLINGTON,New Zealand-A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 occurred near the Auckland Islands, uninhabited territory belonging to New Zealand, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Sunday. The agency said there was a chance of a tsunami being generated, but no tsunami warning was issued by New Zealand disaster monitoring authorities. There were no immediate reports of damage.The quake rocked the open southern ocean area at around 4:24 p.m. New Zealand time Sunday, the agency said in a statement.It occurred about 295 miles southwest of New Zealand's southernmost city of Invercargill and 125 miles northwest of the Auckland Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.Invercargill police senior sergeant Brock Davis said while one of his staff "thought they felt something (when the quake occurred) I didn't feel anything myself."He said he had no reports of a tsunami striking southern New Zealand.Earlier Sunday, a strong earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean and was felt in Guam, officials and various agencies said. No injuries, damage or tsunamis were immediately reported.The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake magnitude at 6.8 and said it occurred about 215 miles south-southeast of the U.S. territory of Guam. It had a depth of about 6.2 miles beneath the sea floor, according to the USGS.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070930/ap_on_re_as/new_zealand_earthquake_3
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2 quakes off Japan, no tsunami

TOKYO - Two earthquakes struck almost simultaneously off Japan's central coast late Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued and no damage was reported. The first quake, with a magnitude of 6.6, struck at 10:41 p.m. and was centered in the Pacific Ocean off Iwo Jima, about 930 miles south of Tokyo.Another quake with a magnitude of 7.4 occurred off the Mariana Islands around the same time, according to the agency.Slight shaking was reported in northeastern towns on Japan's main island of Honshu.No injuries or damage were immediately reported. It was not immediately known whether the two quakes were related.Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries and sits atop four tectonic plates.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_as/japan_earthquakes_1;_ylt=AjCtPAf4U5ydN1xsfHgrAxqnZiEB

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Moderate quakes strike New Caledonia

NOUMEA, New Caledonia - A series of earthquakes struck near the French islands of New Caledonia in the South Pacific on Friday, prompting increased vigilance for a tsunami though officials said there was no immediate risk. About 15 quakes hit the region and some ranged in magnitude from 5.0 to 6.6, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quakes struck around midday local time and most were centered in a region about 100 miles east of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands, it said.There were no reports of injuries or damage in the sparsely populated atolls nearest the epicenter, said Capt. Jean-Christian Baratto, an official with the French High Commissariat in New Caledonia.He said residents of Maree Island, the closest to the epicenter, felt only "slight shaking."Stuart Koyanagi, a geophysicist with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, said the quakes were too small to generate a Pacific-wide tsunami.While the center warned that the largest of the quakes had the potential to generate a local tsunami, Baratto dismissed that possibility."We are watching carefully. There is no risk of a local tsunami," he said.The French High Commissariat in New Caledonia convened an urgent meeting to discuss the quakes. Local police were warned to stay "vigilant," the commissariat said.New Caledonia is a collection of small islands with a population of about 221,000 people located some 1,120 miles northeast of Australia. It lies along the Pacific Basin's so-called "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines where quakes are frequent.The quakes came soon as New Caledonia is testing a new tsunami warning system, Baratto said. The system includes text messages that would be sent to cell phones in the case of a tsunami risk.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_au_an/new_caledonia_quake_3;_ylt=AumLZaU1ruGCNW6RQNjfJlunZiEB

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Climber lucky to be alive after New Zealand volcano erupts

WELLINGTON-A New Zealand volcano erupted unexpectedly Tuesday night, spewing ash and rock into the air and leaving one man lucky to be alive after he was crushed by falling rocks, officials said. The sudden eruption at Mount Ruapehu, located halfway between Wellington and Auckland on New Zealand's North Island, caught out William Pike, a 22-year-old climber from Auckland who has had to have part of a leg amputated after rocks and debris crashed through the door of a mountainside hut.One of his climbing companions, James Christie, said they were staying in the hut about 700 metres (2,300 feet) from the crater, when they heard a "massive boom.""And then within a matter of seconds the doors were blown out completely until just the hinges were left and there was mud and rock and water pouring in and onto the floor until it was about a foot (30 centimetres) deep," he said.Pike was evacuated by ambulance and helicopter to hospital early Wednesday and his right leg was later amputated below the knee. Doctors said he was lucky to be alive after he had to be dug out from under the debris.About 60 skiers staying in chalets on the mountain were evacuated for a short time Tuesday night, although many were apparently unaware the eruption had occurred."We knew nothing about it, we didn't hear anything. We were completely oblivious," said Penny Brooking, who was staying in one of the chalets.The eruption briefly closed roads, suspended train services along the main line in the area and ski slopes on the mountain remained closed Wednesday, although no serious damage was reported.Vulcanologist Craig Miller said the eruption started at 8:23 pm (0823 GMT) Tuesday and lasted for seven minutes. "It was just straight out of the blue," he told Radio New Zealand.No further volcanic activity was reported Wednesday after the eruption, which was classified as small to moderate, but scientists warned further eruptions were possible.
Department of Conservation vulcanologist Harry Keys described Mount Ruapehu as an extremely unpredictable volcano and further eruptions could happen over the next two or three days."The only way we can manage that risk is by saying to people don't go up to the crater for a few days," Keys said.Mount Ruapehu, the highest mountain in the North Island at 2,797 metres, has been the most active mainland New Zealand volcano in recent years, with moderate eruptions in 1975, 1995, 1996 and a small eruption in October last year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070926/sc_afp/nzealandvolcano_070926195506;_ylt=ArUB0AhfR751ZZqyYGltLZanZiEB

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Indonesia's Sumatra hit by strong quake

JAKARTA-A strong earthquake hit off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, seismologists said on Wednesday. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured 6.4.Indonesia's meteorological agency said it struck 149 km (93 miles) southwest of Painan in West Sumatra province and was at a depth of 70 km.More than 20 people were killed when an 8.4 magnitude earthquake hit western Sumatra on September 12, and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed in the area.In the past two weeks, the area has been hit by a series of quakes and strong aftershocks, setting off tsunami warnings in Indonesia and other countries in the region.
Indonesia, which is situated in a belt of intense seismic activity known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire," was hit by a huge earthquake in December 2004, triggering a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which killed more than 230,000 people in the region, including 170,000 Indonesians.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070926/wl_nm/quake_indonesia_dc_2;_ylt=An_yEYw6Buw.krIY5vkc2BinZiEB

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5.6 magnitude quake off Papua New Guinea

CANBERRA, Australia - An earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea but there was no threat of a major tsunami, officials said Thursday. The 5.6 magnitude quake struck beneath the Pacific Ocean 531 miles northeast of the South Pacific island nation's capital Port Moresby at 11:20 p.m. Wednesday (9:20 a.m. EDT), the U.S. Geological Survey said.The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected.
There were no immediate reports of local damage.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070926/ap_on_re_au_an/pacific_quake_2;_ylt=AqMDQy2av5B2Jq0q4WzEWFqnZiEB

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New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu erupts

WELLINGTON-New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu, famed as a key location in the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, has erupted, spewing out ash and rock that injured one climber, officials said, adding there could be further eruptions. The 10-minute eruption started at about 8.20 p.m. on Tuesday (4:20 a.m. EDT) and threw boulders 1-2 meters in diameter up to two kilometers from the crater, crown agency Geological and Nuclear Sciences said.The eruption, which sent a cloud of ash and dust to a height of 15,000 feet, could signal further volcanic activity or it could be a one off event, GNS Volcanologist Steve Sherburn told Reuters."At the moment we don't know which pathway we're heading down," Sherburn said. "If you look historically at what Ruapehu has done then you can find examples of both of these."The highest mountain in New Zealand's North Island at 2,797-meters (9,177 feet), Mt Ruapehu has one of the most active crater lakes in the world. The mountain was the location of Middle Earth in the "Lord of the Rings" films.
In March a mudflow, or "lahar" flowed down the side of the mountain after the crater lake overflowed, and large eruptions in 1995 and 1996 blanketed the surrounding area in ash.
Tuesday's eruption caused two mudflows, known as lahars, down the eastern and northern slopes of the mountain, which quickly petered out in thick snow.Boulders thrown by the eruption crashed through the roof of a hut where four climbers were staying near the summit. One climber suffered leg injuries and was taken down the mountain to hospital.Ruapehu District Engineer Peter Pill said the two skifields on the mountain were closed on Wednesday, with the situation to be reviewed later in the day.In 1953 a lahar swept away a railway bridge at Tangiwai and 151 people were killed when an Auckland-to-Wellington train plunged into a river.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070926/wl_nm/volcano_newzealand_dc_2;_ylt=ArUMUDxd3nJgO0h3Ux8bYnenZiEB

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Minor quake shakes Southern California

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. - A minor earthquake shook part of Southern California on Tuesday, with no injuries or damage reported. The magnitude-3.9 quake occurred at 3:38 p.m. and was centered about 50 miles east-southeast of Los Angeles, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It was an aftershock of a magnitude-4.7 quake that struck the area this month, the California Institute of Technology said.The quake occurred at a depth of less than a mile.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070925/ap_on_re_us/california_quake_1;_ylt=ArICDltgu6X_p2fjsLSuDQanZiEB
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Earthquake shakes Greece; no injuries

ATHENS, Greece - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 shook the Aegean Sea island of Karpathos but no damage or injuries were reported, authorities said Sunday. The U.S. Geological Survey said the early morning quake occurred in the sea off Karpathos in the Dodecanese island group, some 265 miles southeast of Athens.Greece is one of the world's most earthquake-prone areas. Two strong quakes struck the west of the country last month, but no injuries or damage were reported.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070923/ap_on_re_eu/greece_earthquake_1;_ylt=Au7_R78lOkhJCP1ue7X5uZ2nZiEB

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Some Villagers Return Home Following 3 Days of Deadly Earthquakes

PADANG,Indonesia-Some villagers in western Indonesia returned home Saturday, three days after a deadly earthquake jolted the region and generated a powerful string of aftershocks and a tsunami.Many of those affected have been camping out on high ground away from the ocean. But with electricity back on in most places and no major aftershocks felt on Saturday, some were beginning to reopen shops and clean up debris around their homes.Many residents remain jittery, however, shaken by the more than 60 strong aftershocks that followed the 8.4-magnitude temblor which hit Indonesia on Wednesday, causing a 10-foot-high tsunami.The death toll in the quakes climbed to at least 17 people. At least 88 were injured. Aid was making its way to hard-hit areas, though some residents claimed it was slow in coming.With roads damaged and communication cut, getting accurate casualty figures was a challenge. Authorities raised the death toll after information came in from remote regions, said Rustam Pakaya, the chief of Health Crisis Center.Many people said a public awareness campaign launched after the massive 2004 earthquake that sparked the tsunami which killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen Indian Ocean nations paid off. Warnings issued over mosque speakers and training provided by local officials on how to escape a disaster played a big role.In some areas, however, electricity blackouts prevented some sirens from going off.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, with a population of 235 million people, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296900,00.html

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EQUIP training Christian leaders in Peru in aftermath of earthquake

A Christian international leadership development organization known as EQUIP is currently working with indigenous Christian leaders throughout Peru-weeks after a massive earthquake shook parts of that country. Arizona businessman Chuck Harrison and his pastor, Don Wilson, are heading to Peru as part of EQUIP's ongoing programs in that nation. The pair will meet with more than 700 leaders in Lima, only an hour outside some of the worst hit areas, for training workshops and one-on-one consultations. Harrison says the training helps Christian leaders learn how to multiply their efforts."Two hands can only do so much," he explains,"but it's better if there are four hands or a thousand hands, whatever it is, to do things...whether it's spread the Word of Jesus Christ or whether it's helping with the earthquake stuff or with just life in general," he says."This deal is designed for people who want to be leaders, both Christian leaders now and lay leaders now-they're sort of leaders, but they don't know how to teach leadership and how to become better leaders themselves."Harrison's company operates more than 300 Sonic Drive-Ins throughout the country. He states that the same leadership principles he used to expand that business will be applied to the training of these Christian workers. This will mark his fourth trip to Peru with EQUIP, a ministry founded by John Maxwell.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/09/equip_training_christian_leade.php

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Ministry reports no damage;Indonesian quake damage-assessment continues

Indonesians were on tsunami alert yesterday after an 8.2 earthquake and aftershocks struck off of the West coast in the Indian Ocean.Two tsunami alerts were cancelled, but one remained in effect for Indonesia as well as 24 other countries around the Indian Ocean. The Pacific Tsunami Reporting Center said there was a small tsunami measuring two feet, several hundred miles northeast of the epicenter.Food for the Hungry is one of many partners with work on the ground. After an initial assessment yesterday, they've determined their offices and development work in Meubolah were not affected.The quake rattled buildings in Jakarta, at least 400 miles away from the epicenter. It was the second-largest earthquake since the tsunami in December 2004. More than 220,000 people died in that natural disaster.Yesterday there were estimates that at least nine people were killed in the quake; the deaths resulted from falling objects.The quake comes as the heavily-Muslim country prepares for Ramadan.Food for the Hungry will continue to assess what kind of response will be needed in the area.
http://www.fh.org/
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/10351

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Emotions running high in Indonesia

Indonesia-World Vision Indonesia relief teams are now on the ground assessing the impact of a series of massive quakes that rocked Sumatra west coast and which resulted in tsunami warnings being issued across the Indian Ocean.The largest quake measuring 8.4 on the USG scale hit last Wednesday and was followed by others measuring up to 7.8, says the World Vision team. All occurred off the Bengkulu coast on the western side of Sumatra.However, World Vision's Indonesia Humanitarian and Emergencies Assessment manager, Jimmy Nadapdap, speaking from Indonesia, says, "We're thankful that the damage being reported is not as bad as we thought it was. This is coming from the media and also from our colleagues that are now present on the ground, both in Bengkulu and Padang."Several towns along the western coast of Bengkulu and West Sumatra province, the closest to the epicenters, reported houses collapsed or scores of buildings suffering from cracks.Electricity in many parts of Sumatra was down since the quake, as power stations had broken down.However, the real issue is more emotional. Nadapdap says people are scared to death."Hundreds of earthquakes and tremors have happened in the area after the strongest one that happened. People are scared. People are tired. It's very difficult for them.They go outside when they feel the tremors. They go to the high ground because they're afraid of the tsunami. So, things like that are still happening."That's giving World Vision team members a chance to share from their heart about the peace they have despite the situation.However, the good news is World Vision won't be required to implement an emergency response, but , since strong quakes continue happening in the area, World Vision will closely follow further developments.World Vision Indonesia has no project close to the impacted areas. The nearest projects are in Jakarta (some 600 kilometers east of the epicenter) and in Nias island and Aceh province (over 600 kilometers away northwest of the quakes).

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/10361

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Ministry standing by with relief if needed in Indonesia

Indonesia-Relief efforts are underway in Sumatra, Indonesia after a series of strong earthquakes shook the area.Sumatra has been jolted by four powerful earthquakes since late Wednesday, the strongest of which measured 8.4 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of this quake was about 105 kilometers southwest of Bengkulu. Officials deemed it the most powerful earthquake to strike anywhere in the world this year.AMG International's Roger Thomas says they have a church planter in Bengkulu, southwestern Sumatra. Although there have been strong aftershocks, the damage there has been minimal. Two small tsunamis were also reported, but neither caused any serious damage or injury. Power cuts and disrupted telephone networks made gathering information difficult, although government authorities and relief groups did manage to fly into the region. Even though their project wasn't directly affected by the disaster, Thomas says they're ready for action if needed. "We generally use our church-planting places as a base of operations for reaching out when these things happen. So if this church planter lets us know that there is a need in the region, then that'll be coordinated and come from our headquarters there in Solo."Thomas says this crisis might allow the hope of the Gospel to penetrate in areas that would otherwise be closed. He urges prayer. "It's difficult going into that region, but in response to a disaster like an earthquake or a tsunami, the Christians are generally the ones out there first to give relief, comfort, or whatever assistance that they can."

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/10353

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Seismologists Warn Indonesian Quakes May Get Worse

PADANG,Indonesia-A series of powerful earthquakes has terrorized residents in western Indonesia-including one that triggered a tsunami warning Friday-leaving thousands sleeping on plastic sheets in the hills. Seismologists warn the worst may yet to come.Kerry Sieh, from the California Institute of Technology, has spent decades studying the volatile fault line. He is one of several experts predicting a repeat of the massive earthquake that triggered the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen Indian Ocean nations."No one can say whether it will be in 30 seconds or 30 years," he said. "But what happened the other day, I think is quite possibly a sequence of smaller earthquakes leading up to the bigger one."An 8.4-magnitude quake that shook Southeast Asia on Wednesday was followed by dozens of strong aftershocks — including one measuring a magnitude of 7.8 and another 7.1-that killed 13 people, damaged hundreds of houses and spawned a 10-foot-high tsunami.On Friday, a 6.4-magnitude temblor hit the area again, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, triggering the latest in a string of tsunami warnings that was later lifted.On Wednesday, a wall of water slammed into several fishing villages on the island of Sumatra and swept away nearly a dozen houses, but caused no deaths. The massive quakes have also heightened experts' concerns.The fault, which runs the length of the west coast of Sumatra about 125 miles offshore, is the meeting point of the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates, which have been pushing against each other for millions of years. This can cause huge stresses to build up.{{{"There is a strong indication this foreshadows the big one," said Danny Hillman, an earthquake specialist at the Indonesian Institute of Science. "We all agree there is an 8.5 or stronger earthquake waiting to happen."That's exactly what residents along Sumatra's western coast, which is expected to bear the brunt of the next disaster, are worried about.}}} The island was hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the deaths.In the tiny fishing village of Sungai Pisang, just south of the badly damaged city of Padang, hundreds of people were too scared to return home after the recent tremors sent a large wave washing into their bay.At a camp pitched on a muddy hillside cemetery, they have been sleeping atop plastic sheets or on the cold ground between graves. A small generator powers a light bulb, hung over branches in the thick tropical undergrowth, but there is little else."I am very afraid of another tsunami," said Dasima, a 50-year-old rice farmer who fled with her 7-year-old grandson, Rolin. "We only cook our rice in the town and then return here to eat and sleep. We will stay here until we feel it is safe."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296752,00.html
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Quake zone hit by aftershocks...

Watch the video at:
Quake zone hit by aftershocks
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New Sumatra quakes rock Indonesia

BENGKULU,Indonesia-Frightened residents on Indonesia's Sumatra island huddled in tents outside their damaged homes on Friday, traumatized by the latest of more than 40 aftershocks since a huge earthquake struck two days ago.Indonesia's meteorology agency issued on Friday the latest in a series of tsunami warnings after another strong quake in Sumatra, although it was lifted about an hour later.There have been a series of tremors ranging in intensity from 4.9 to 7.8 since Wednesday's 8.4 quake, repeatedly setting off tsunami warnings in Indian Ocean countries.There have, however, been no reports of the sort of widespread tsunami that caused the death and devastation of the huge waves in 2004, which followed a quake of over 9 magnitude.Seismologist Mike Turnbull of Australia's Central Queensland University warned against complacency over the frequent tsunami warnings."The problem is, these were very large earthquakes. They had every capability to generate large tsunami."At least two areas in Bengkulu province were hit by tsunamis after Wednesday's quake, residents told Reuters correspondents.About 100 houses were damaged by a 3 meter (10 ft) wave in Serangai, 70 km north of Bengkulu city, but there were no casualties."Suddenly, I heard the rushing sound of water coming, it looked black. So I told everybody to run," said Johan, a 60-year-old farmer, who like many Indonesians uses one name. He said most people had already fled to higher ground after the quake.Some houses had been shifted about 10 meters by the water and tree trunks and large logs littered the main road.Padang Bakung, a village two hours drive south of Bengkulu, also suffered a tsunami that inundated houses with water as high as half a meter. The houses were 60 meters from the coast."We have a siren, but it doesn't work because of power outages after the quake," said village chief Marsan, adding that it could only be heard in a radius of 100 meters anyway.Marsan, who was dressed in a sarong, said he hoped the government would build breakwaters to shield the village."When the quake struck, the sea water spilled onto the streets, reaching the waistline," said Jailani, 40, a fisherman.Rustam Pakaya, head of the Indonesian health ministry's crisis centre in Jakarta, said 14 people had been killed and 56 injured across the region since Wednesday's quake.
HOSPITAL DRIP
The latest quakes triggered new panic among thousands camping out in makeshift shelters or tents, using torches and kerosene lights, and setting fires overnight to keep warm.Patients had to be moved into tents in front of the hospital in Bengkulu, the nearest major town to the epicenter of Wednesday's 8.4 quake, the most powerful in the world this year."When the first strong quake struck, I ran immediately from the room with my infusion," said Yasin, 50, who had been treated with an intravenous drip for allergies.Roads in the north of Bengkulu province were lined with tents and a Reuters photographer estimated about 8 in 10 houses appeared badly damaged or destroyed.Seismologist Turnbull said the region was lucky to have escaped a tsunami similar to the one that killed more than 280,000 people in 2004.International aid agencies had sent teams to assess aid needs, although many outlying districts had not been reached yet.The U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday its initial assessment was that the Indonesian government could cope,Indonesian Vice President Yusuf Kalla told reporters that quake victims would be given help with reconstruction if needed, along the lines of last year's earthquake in Yogyakarta on Java island when more than 5,700 died.
"In Yogyakarta we helped with the reconstruction of houses. In Bengkulu we will do so, too, depending on the extent of the damage."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070914/ts_nm/indonesia_quake_dc

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Indonesia rocked by another quake

JAKARTA,Indonesia-A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 struck late Thursday off the western coast of Sumatra, the same area shaken by a major 8.4-magnitude temblor that killed nine people Wednesday. The region has been wracked by quakes and aftershocks for the past two days.The most recent quake struck at 11:09 p.m. (12:09 p.m. ET), 110 kilometers (65 miles) west-northwest of Sumatra's Bengkulu province at a depth of only 3 km (2 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The Indonesian government issued, then canceled, a tsunami alert. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.A quake with the same magnitude struck the region several hours earlier, at 5:48 p.m. (6:48 a.m. ET). The temblor vibrated under the Celebes Sea at a depth of about 21 km (13 miles). It was centered about 290 km (180 miles) northeast of Bitung, a city on the northern coast of Sulawesi, and the same distance south-southeast of General Santos, Mindanao, Philippines.Wednesday's quake generated a series of aftershocks, including two major ones early Thursday measuring 7.8 and 8.1, said David Applegate, senior science adviser at the U.S. Geological Survey.{{{"It's been an incredible number of years for Indonesia and particularly for Sumatra" in terms of earthquakes, Applegate said on CNN's "American Morning" on Thursday."What we have here is a subduction zone, where one of the Earth's plates is moving down beneath the other," he said."In this case, the Indian Ocean and the Australian Plate are moving beneath the Eurasian Plate."In this kind of a situation you're going to get earthquakes as the strain builds up, but what we're seeing now is almost every segment of this plate has ruptured just in the last several years," Applegate said.}}} "In each case, it relieves pressure in one area but then that increases the pressure somewhere else. And so, for example, what we saw yesterday was the magnitude 8.4 quake ruptured to the north along this boundary. This 7.8 was at the northern end of that."
In the past 24 hours the region has been rocked by heavy seismic activity-with a total of at least 60 tremors rattling the country, according to Indonesia's Social Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie.The seismic shakedown began Wednesday night with a deadly 8.4-magnitude quake -- centered in southern Sumatra, which is west northwest of Jakarta.A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Thursday morning at about 6:45 a.m. (7:45 p.m. Wednesday ET), USGS said. The epicenter was about 185 km south-southeast of Padang and about 200 km northwest of Bengkulu.About four hours later, the USGS reported that a 7.1-magnitude quake had rocked the region. Sandwiched in-between were half a dozen temblors measuring 5.0 and above.
At least 10 aftershocks of magnitude 5.1 to 6.0 were felt in the region after the larger quake, which shook buildings hundreds of miles away, killed at least nine people and generated a small tsunami about 60 cm high along the Sumatran coast."Our main concern is the people," Bakrie said from Padang. "The victims are not as dire as we thought and everything has been taken care of."People in the Indian Ocean region have been extremely skittish about the possibility of earthquake-induced tsunamis since December 2004, when gigantic waves triggered by a 9.1-magnitude quake that killed more than 200,000 people in seven countries.Wednesday evening's quake killed at least nine people in Bengkulu province and Padang, and an unknown number were injured or missing, according to officials. Search-and-rescue operations, suspended overnight, resumed at daylight Thursday, which also marked the start of the holy month of Ramadan in the mostly Muslim country.The relatively light loss of life can be attributed to national and provincial governments being battle-tested by a string of powerful earthquakes over the last three years, Bakrie said."The people understand more about the problems and the danger of the earthquakes," according to Bakrie. "The central government as well as the district government, at the provincial level, has warned the people ... so the system works."The powerful quake shook buildings about 385 miles away in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and also in Singapore, about 435 miles from the epicenter."Doors started to creak, and the whole apartment seemed to ... make a cracking noise," said Rahayu Saraswati, who lives on the 35th floor of a building in Jakarta. "We ran out to the emergency staircase with other residents of the floor and ran all the way down to the lobby."

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/13/indonesia.quake/index.html

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Tsunami aftermath at Bengkulu,Indonesia

A man pushes his bicycle past by debris swept ashore by a tsunami following an earthquake in the fishing village in Muara Maras, Bengkulu, Sumatra island, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. Three powerful earthquakes jolted Indonesia in less than 24 hours, sending a three-meter (10-foot) tsunami crashing to shore, damaging hundreds of houses and terrifying residents. At least 10 people were killed in the tremors, which were followed by dozens of aftershocks.

http://apnews.myway.com/image/20070913/INDONESIA_EARTHQUAKE.sff_DA119_20070913114839.html?date=20070913&docid=D8RKN6U00

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Tsunami aftermath...

A man sits on debris swept ashore by tsunami following an earthquake in Muara Maras, Bengkulu, Sumatra island, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. Three powerful earthquakes jolted Indonesia in less than 24 hours, sending a three-meter (10-foot) tsunami crashing to shore, damaging hundreds of houses and terrifying residents. At least 10 people were killed in the tremors, which were followed by dozens of aftershocks.

http://apnews.myway.com/image/20070913/INDONESIA_EARTHQUAKE.sff_DA118_20070913114907.html?date=20070913&docid=D8RKN6U00

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Indonesian Quakes Trigger Tsunami Alerts

PADANG,Indonesia-Indonesia was shaken by series of powerful earthquakes in less than 24 hours Thursday, a day after survivors watched in horror as the ocean retreated and raced back to shore as a 10-foot-high tsunami.Hundreds of houses were destroyed in Wednesday's quake that sent panicked residents fleeing to the hills. At least 10 people were killed.The most powerful quake Thursday was one registering a magnitude of 7.8 off Sumatra, the U.S. Geological Survey said.Indonesia issued and lifted several tsunami warnings throughout the day, including one after a 6.2-magnitude quake at 11:09 p.m. (12:09 p.m. EDT) that was centered 166 miles offshore from the island of Sumatra, 34 miles beneath the ocean floor, the USGS said.Wednesday's 8.4-magnitude quake that first shook Southeast Asia was the strongest this year. But the huge mass of water it spawned was pushed to sea rather than land, said Mike Turnbull, a seismologist at Australia's Central Queensland University."It's a quirk of nature that this is how it happened," he said. "It could have quite easily have been the other way."The 10-foot wave slammed into at least one village on Sumatra, the island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen nations.Rukhlan, a 43-year-old fisherman, said residents of the village, Muara Maras, were horrified when they saw the ocean retreat and then race back to shore."I heard people screaming and yelling tsunami! tsunami!" he said. "I ran to find my children, but they had already run to the hills."A dozen houses were swept out to sea. Smaller waves were recorded further down the coast.Temblors registering magnitudes of 7.8, 7.1 and two of 6.2 followed on Thursday in western and eastern Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey said. They were accompanied by dozens of aftershocks.The worst destruction was caused by the jolts along the coast, especially in the city of Padang, 115 miles from the epicenter below the seabed off the western coast of Sumatra."At least five large buildings - including mosques, houses and a school - collapsed," said Surya Budhi, who was overseeing emergency response in the area, and rescuers were searching for survivors at a badly damaged car dealership.A fire also broke out on the fourth floor of a shopping mall.Yulinar, a fisherman's wife who lives with her husband and five children in a wooden shack at a waterfront market in Padang, said the second, magnitude-7.8 quake, just six miles deep, was so powerful they had to grab onto the furniture to keep from falling down when it struck at 6:49 a.m."It was very bad," said Yulinar, who fled inland with her family after a tsunami warning from the mayor was broadcast through mosque speakers. "I was so scared the tsunami was coming."The third quake struck at 4:48 p.m. off Sulawesi island along a different fault line at a depth of13 miles, the USGS said.More than 30 aftershocks have rattled the region in the last day and many people refused to return to their homes, fearing a repeat of the 2004 tsunami. Nearly two-thirds of the deaths in that disaster were in nearby Aceh province.Australia's Bureau of Meteorology warned that unusual waves could hit Christmas Island, but locals said there was no sign of a tsunami about an hour after the predicted time."The danger has passed," said Linda Cash, a manager at the Christmas Island Visitors Center, adding that police were telling people to stay away from beaches.Telephone lines and electricity were disrupted across a large swath of Indonesia, making it difficult to get information about damage and casualties.Death tolls released by several agencies ranged from five to 10. Rustam Pakaya, the chief of Health Crisis Center, gave the latter figure, which was based on information gathered from local hospitals, clinics and regional health offices. He said at least 49 people were injured.Sensitive to criticism about slow responses to the 2004 tsunami disaster, governments issued alerts as far away as Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, telling people to leave beaches. People in Mombasa, Kenya, crowded into buses after hearing the warning over the radio.Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center sent cell phone text messages alerting hundreds of officials in six southern provinces, and authorities also were told to prepare in India's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands.Sri Lankans were told to move more than 650 feet inland. Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, with a population of 235 million people, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070913/D8RKN6U00.html

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4 strong quakes hit Indonesia after Wednesday temblor

TAPAN,Indonesia-Four strong earthquakes followed by numerous aftershocks hit Indonesia on Thursday, after a massive temblor with a magnitude of 8.4 jolted Sumatra Island a day earlier.The first two quakes, occurring just hours apart in the southwestern parts of Sumatra, had magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors world quakes.The third, with a magnitude of 6.2, struck near Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines.The fourth, M6.8 quake hit Sumatra on Thursday night, prompting Indonesia's meteorological agency to issue a tsunami warning, Reuters reported.And aftershocks continue.Indonesian authorities issued several tsunami warnings, but almost all were lifted later and there were no immediate reports of damage or injury from Thursday's many quakes.The M7.8 quake that hit at 6:49 a.m. was centered 10 kilometers under the seabed in the area of the Mentawai Islands, about 185 km south- southeast of Padang, capital of West Sumatra Province on Sumatra Island, according to the USGS.The M7.1 quake hit around 10:35 a.m., with the same depth and centered some 165 km south-southwest of Padang. It was followed by numerous aftershocks with magnitudes of more than 5.In the M8.4 earthquake that rocked the region Wednesday, at least 10 people were killed, mostly in the northern part of Bengkulu Province, and more than 65 others injured, according to Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's Crisis Management Center.Pakaya told Kyodo News that several buildings were damaged in Bengkulu and in neighboring Padang, while a local official in Padang said at least one person was trapped under the debris of a collapsed building.In Padang, most shops and offices are closed and people are staying outside, sitting on mats on the city streets.Many of them want to get out of the city, seeking higher ground.Padang's Indarung area was filled with private cars and trucks carrying people who escaped from their houses near coastal areas.Suharti, a 40-year-old farmer, has been staying on the road linking Padang's airport and the city center since Wednesday night, fearing a tsunami."This earthquake is very unusual. I never experienced earthquakes and aftershocks like these after the Aceh tsunami," the mother of four told Kyodo News, referring to the tsunami disaster that hit Aceh Province on the northern tip of Sumatra in 2004."I'm so scared to go back home because I'm afraid that anytime a tsunami may hit our house," she said.Her family members went hungry, but she does not know what to eat "because we came here only with our clothing," she said in front of dozens of fellow farmers living near a riverbank.Safri, another farmer, called the seismic activity "very strange."Across Padang, hotel guests were staying outside and many hotels refused to receive new guests. At the airport and on the streets, passengers were competing to get taxis or rental cars because there were limited taxis and cars operating."I don't want to operate my rental car because I will need it to bring my family members to higher ground when a tsunami comes," driver Ricky told a Kyodo News reporter who wanted to rent the car.Along the West Sumatra coast on the way from Padang to Bengkulu, many villages and towns were deserted as their residents were sheltering on higher ground under newly erected tents.Many houses, mosques and shops were seen damaged by the Wednesday quake.On the Mentawai Islands, off the coast of Sumatra, residents reportedly fled to higher ground and set up tents on the hills.Early Thursday morning, a U.N. assessment team flew to Bengkulu from Aceh with humanitarian supplies, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement."This earthquake is one of the biggest Sumatra has seen since 2005, and raises old fears in a country that had suffered tremendously from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami already," John Holmes, undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said in the statement.Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla expressed his relief during a media briefing that the Wednesday earthquake is not as devastating as first feared."Yesterday, we thought there would be massive destruction, but from the reports I had received this morning, thank to God that the damage is not as grave as we feared," Kalla told reporters."Now, the people's preparedness starts to get better, much better, that when an earthquake comes, they immediately run away from the coast. For that, I thank to the people," he added.Indonesia, with more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes.In December 2004, the powerful earthquake off Aceh and subsequent tsunami killed about 200,000 people in Aceh and tens of thousands of others in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other areas around the perimeter of the Indian Ocean.A M8.7 earthquake jolted Nias Island, off Sumatra to the south of Aceh, in March 2005 killing more than 800 people.In addition, a strong earthquake also rocked Yogyakarta and surrounding Central Java cities on May 27 last year, killing about 5,800 people.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RKNA2G2&show_article=1&catnum=0

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FACTBOX: Sumatra quake tops magnitude 8 -- what does this mean?

A magnitude 8.4 earthquake that hit South Sumatra on Wednesday is the largest of four of magnitude 8 or above that have hit worldwide in 2007, and the most powerful to hit Indonesia since the magnitude 8.6 "Nias" earthquake in March 2005, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Here are five facts about magnitude 8+ quakes.
WHERE HAVE THIS YEAR'S MAGNITUDE 8+ QUAKES BEEN?:
* January 13: East of the Kuril Islands, which stretch between Japan and Russia, magnitude 8.1
* April 1: Solomon Islands, east of Melanesia, magnitude 8.1
* August 15: Near the coast of central Peru, magnitude 8.0
* September 12: South Sumatra, Indonesia, magnitude 8.4
All four locations are on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a horse-shoe shaped 25,000 mile (40,000 kilometer)-long arc of volcanoes and fault lines that generates about 90 percent of the world's earthquakes.

To read more go to:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-09-13T044658Z_01_JAK172243_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L1-RelatedNews-5

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Quakes hit Indonesia, raising fears of tsunami

BENGKULU,Indonesia-Indonesia's Sumatra island was hit by a series of aftershocks on Thursday after a powerful earthquake toppled hundreds of buildings, killing at least 10 people and burying many others.A seismologist said the region was lucky to have escaped a tsunami similar to the one triggered by the more than 9 magnitude quake in 2004 that killed over 280,000 people.But the threat remained. Indonesia's meteorology agency issued the latest in a series of tsunami warnings late on Thursday after another strong earthquake struck Sumatra. The damage from the initial quake was "relatively less" than feared, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters on Thursday."However, we still have to do a thorough assessment.People are better at responding to disasters than in previous years."Wednesday's 8.4 magnitude quake-which took place on the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and was felt in neighboring Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand-cut communications and sparked panic in the hours that followed.That quake and more than 20 further tremors ranging in intensity from 4.9 to 7.8 repeatedly set off tsunami warnings in Indian Ocean countries. However there were no reports of major ocean surges hitting coastlines.

To read more go to:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-09-13T171723Z_01_L12724647_RTRUKOC_0_US-INDONESIA-QUAKE.xml&src=rss&sp=true

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OKLAHOMA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY picks QUAKE in INDONESIA

NOTE:Written in red is "8.2" with an arrow pointing at the low frequency waves in the middle in black,which corresponds to the big quake that hit first Indonesia yesterday.

The LOW FREQUENCY seismograms show mainly surface waves from distant earthquakes. The MEDIUM FREQUENCY seismograms show larger Oklahoma and (some) other North American earthquakes. They also show P and PKP phases from moderate to large distant earthquakes. Finally, they show quarry blasts. These limestone surface mining blasts are mostly in NE Oklahoma, but a few may be in other parts of Oklahoma, or Missouri, or Arkansas, or Kansas. A few of the smaller blasts are from Oklahoma or Kansas coal strip mines.

http://156.110.192.25/seis/four.html

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Latest Earthquakes in the World - Past 7 days

RED:last hour

ORANGE:last day

YELLOW:last week

Worldwide earthquakes with M4.0+ located by USGS and Contributing Agencies.

(Earthquakes with M2.5+ within the United States and adjacent areas.) http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/

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QUAKE in MONTANA

3.5 Mca - WESTERN MONTANA

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude
3.5 Mca
Date-Time
13 Sep 2007 00:07:53 UTC
12 Sep 2007 18:07:53 near epicenter
12 Sep 2007 18:07:53 in your timezone
Location
47.072N 113.318W
Depth
4 km
Distances
15 km (10 miles) SE (133 degrees) of Seeley Lake, MT
15 km (9 miles) WNW (295 degrees) of Ovando, MT
45 km (28 miles) NE (42 degrees) of Clinton, MT
315 km (196 miles) E (101 degrees) of Spokane, WA
682 km (424 miles) E (92 degrees) of Seattle, WA
Location Uncertainty
Horizontal: 3.6 km; Vertical 8.7 km
Parameters
Nph = 6; Dmin = 55.0 km; Rmss = 0.41 seconds; Gp = 162°M-type = Mca; Version = 1
Event ID
MB 13990
For updates, maps, and technical information, see:
Event Page
or
U.S.G.S. Earthquake Hazards Program
Montana Regional Seismic Network
Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology
http://mbmgquake.mtech.edu/
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ANOTHER QUAKE IN CALIFORNIA

4.1 Ml - CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude
4.1 Ml
Date-Time
13 Sep 2007 00:51:42 UTC
12 Sep 2007 17:51:42 near epicenter
12 Sep 2007 18:51:42 in your timezone
Location
36.244N 120.309W
Depth
11 km
Distances
12 km (8 miles) NNE (21 degrees) of Coalinga, CA
19 km (12 miles) WNW (284 degrees) of Huron, CA
29 km (18 miles) S (179 degrees) of Cantua Creek, CA
186 km (116 miles) SE (130 degrees) of San Jose City Hall, CA
Location Uncertainty
Horizontal: 0.2 km; Vertical 0.4 km
Parameters
Nph = 211; Dmin = 3.0 km; Rmss = 0.10 seconds; Gp = 64°M-type = Ml; Version = 2
Event ID
NC 40201735
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page

or

U.S.G.S. Earthquake Hazards Program
CISN Northern California Management Center

U.S. Geological Survey

Berkeley Seismological Laboratory

http://www.cisn.org/ncmc.html

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QUAKE HITS CALIFORNIA

Magnitude:3.9

12 km (8 mi)

north-northeast of Coalinga, CA

at 05:51 PM PDT

09-12-2007

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Tsunami panic hits southern Bangladesh

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh-Hundreds of thousands of people in southern Bangladesh fled their homes in panic fearing a tsunami after a major earthquake off Indonesia, officials said on Wednesday.Local officials said some 600,000 people rushed from coastal regions of the disaster-prone country following a government tsunami warning.Police with loud-hailers raised the alarm after the 8.4-magnitude earthquake hundreds of miles (kilometres) south in the Indian Ocean."Around half-a-million have left their homes. They've taken shelter in schools, colleges, cyclone shelters and relatives' houses," said Chittagong district administrator Ashraf Shamim."There's a panic but we're using loudspeakers to ask people to take shelter in safe places."An urgent government warning that a tsunami could hit after midnight was repeated frequently by both state and private television and radio stations. It was finally cancelled at 1:30 am Thursday (1930 GMT)."We started using loud-hailers at 8:00 pm (1400 GMT) after the government's order," said Mahbubur Rahman, police chief of the southern island of Sandweep."So far some 70,000 people have been evacuated to cyclone shelters, colleges, schools and government administrative buildings."They have left their homes and are huddled together at the centers."The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an alert for the entire Indian Ocean area including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives-all affected by the devastating December 2004 Asian tsunami.But the centre said later that the danger had passed.Bangladesh, a frequent victim of flooding and ferry disasters, escaped the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which killed 220,000 people in a dozen countries after another massive earthquake off Indonesia's Sumatra island.But officials, unwilling to take chances, opened disaster control rooms in the capital and the districts to coordinate the evacuation after Wednesday's quake."The district administrations in the coastal areas have been ordered to open temporary shelters so that people can stay the night there,"said government press spokesman Mahbub Kabir.Tens of thousands were ordered to take shelter in the southern district of Cox's Bazar, while ships were ordered to stay close to harbour in Chittagong, home of the country's largest port."It's massive work.But we are going to take all the people to safe places," said Chittagong official Shamim.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jcAr3shSnw1f1XU3yAXdvZVF4cVA
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Buildings collapsed after Indonesian quake: police

JAKARTA-Buildings collapsed in the Indonesian town of Mukomuko on the west coast of Sumatra Wednesday after a 7.9-magnitude quake struck, a policeman told local radio.Budi Darmawan said that buildings of three storeys and higher had either collapsed or cracked in the town, which is located approximately 300 kilometres (180 miles) from the quake's epicentre.
Four had so far collapsed, he told ElShinta radio, after fleeing into the hills away from the coast.
"Those with cracks are many, buildings of three floors or more are either fissured or collapsed," he said.
http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=d3377c66-5c84-44cc-862b-a0406638f71e
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Singapur shakes on Thursday with second 7.5 quake

Watch at:
Quake tremor felt in Singapore
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Rescue Teams Start Search for victims of quakes...

Watch at:
Search begins for dead and wounded in Indonesia
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Tsunami warning issued for Indian Ocean countries

SINGAPORE-Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for Indonesia, Australia, India and Sri Lanka on Thursday after another powerful earthquake rocked the south of Sumatra island."There is a possibility of a destructive regional tsunami in the Indian Ocean," the agency said in a statement, adding that the Indian Ocean coasts of Sumatra and Java and Australia's Cocos Islands could be affected within an hour.It said all coasts of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands and all coasts of Sri Lanka could be affected between one to three hours.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which came about 14 hours after another powerful tremor in the same area, measured 7.5. It had earlier put its strength at 7.9.
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Aftershocks Rock Indonesia

Aftershocks rock Indonesia

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Six dead after big quake in Indonesia

PADANG,Indonesia-Rescue teams headed for Indonesia's Sumatra coast on Thursday as aftershocks pounded the region where a powerful earthquake killed six people and perhaps many more the night before.Tsunami warnings were issued but later lifted for Indian Ocean rim countries after the latest aftershocks, including a shallow quake the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said had a magnitude of 7.8."We can expect aftershocks to continue for some time," USGS Geophysicist Dale Grant told Reuters.The tremors sowed fresh panic among residents in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra. The town was thrown into chaos and many fled after the initial 8.4-magnitude quake, which the USGS said was the most powerful in the world this year."My family and neighbors are evacuating to higher ground. Everyone in the place where I live decided to evacuate," said 35-year-old Padang resident Eri Kamra."I saw buildings collapse and one person lost consciousness after the morning quake," he told Reuters.Yuli Bersi, a 42-year-old, housewife said she had also fled with her three children to higher ground after the latest quakes.

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Another powerful quake strikes Indonesia

PADANG,Indonesia-The second powerful earthquake in as many days shook western Indonesia Thursday, collapsing buildings in a coastal city and triggering tsunami alerts around the region. The latest quake was also felt in Malaysia and in Singapore where tall buildings swayed.It triggered at least one strong aftershock.On Wednesday, a strong earthquake shook Southeast Asia, collapsing buildings, killing at least five people and injuring dozens in Indonesia.That tremor triggered a small non-destructive tsunami off the coastal city of Padang on Sumatra, the Indonesian island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami disaster. A tsunami warning was issued for wide areas of the region and nations as far away as Africa.Thursday's magnitude-7.8 quake rattled the same area of Sumatra and caused extensive damage in Padang."Many buildings collapsed after this morning's quake," Fauzi Bahar, the mayor, told El Shinta radio."We're still trying to find out about victims. Thousands of frightened people piled in trucks or sought shelter on high ground.Rafael Abreu, a geologist with The U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado, said the quake on Thursday did not appear to be an aftershock to the 8.4-magnitude temblor the day before.But the centers of both were close together."We are not calling it an aftershock at this point.It's fairly large itself.It seems to be a different earthquake,"Abreu said."The quake seems to be pretty shallow," he said. "These are the quakes that can produce tsunamis."Indonesia issued a tsunami warning, lifted it and then reissued it. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning that unusual waves could hit Christmas Island early Thursday, but locals said there was no sign of a tsunami about an hour after the predicted time."The danger has passed," said Linda Cash, a manager at the Christmas Island Visitors Center. "There was no wave or damage or anything."However, Cash said police were out early Thursday warning people to stay away from the beaches.The USGS said the new quake was centered about 125 miles from Bengkulu, a city on Sumatra. It occurred at a shallow depth of about six miles and struck at 6:49 a.m.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii warned Thursday's quake had the potential to generate a destructive regional tsunami along coasts within 600 miles of the epicenter.It advised authorities to take immediate action to evacuate coastal areas.After Wednesday's quake, frightened people fled their homes and ran inland, fearing a repeat of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Sumatra that struck a dozen nations around the Indian Ocean.That disaster killing an estimated 230,000 people in a dozen nations, most of them in Aceh province on Sumatra."Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction," Wati Said reported by cell phone from Bengkulu, a town 80 miles from the quake's epicenter. "We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here. ... Everyone is afraid."One witness, Budi Darmawan, said a three-story building near his office fell."I saw it with my own eyes," he told El Shinta radio.The first quake was felt in at least four countries, with tall buildings swaying in cities up to 1,200 miles away. It was followed by a series of strong aftershocks, further rattling residents.Telephone lines and electricity were disrupted across a large swath of Indonesia, making it difficult to get information about damage and casualties.Suhardjono, a senior official with the local meteorological agency who like most Indonesians uses only one name, said a small tsunami, perhaps 3-feet high, struck Padang about 20 minutes after the quake. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported a small wave. But most of the damage appeared to come from the ground shaking. Two people died when a car dealership collapsed in Padang and another was killed by a fire on the fourth floor of a damaged department store, a witness, Alfin, said by phone. Excavation machinery was being used to search the rubble for survivors, he said.The Health Ministry said two people died in Bengkulu. The Social Affairs Department said seven had been killed in and around the town. The differing tallies could not be reconciled immediately.At least 194 people were injured in Bengkulu, reported Amin Kurnia, a doctor who said most were being treated in a compound outside the hospital because its walls were cracked.The undersea temblor hit around 6:10 p.m. at a depth of 18 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.In Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, hundreds of miles from the epicenter, office workers streamed down stairwells as tall office buildings swayed. High-rises also were affected in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.Sensitive to the 2004 tsunami disaster, governments issued alerts as far away as Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, telling people to leave beaches. People in Mombasa, Kenya, crowded into buses after hearing the warning over the radio.Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center sent cell phone text messages alerting hundreds of officials in six southern provinces, and after the danger past broadcast a statement on television to reassure the public.In India, officials said the tremor was not felt in the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, some of which are just 150 miles north of the quake's epicenter. But an alert was issued and authorities were told to take precautions, said Dharam Pal, the regional relief commissioner.Sri Lankans were told to move at least 660 feet inland.In Australia, the tsunami warning was lifted after only small rises in the sea level were measured at Cocos Island and the Christmas Islands.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070913/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake

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