|
8.5 earthquake rocks Aceh, tsunamis swamp Sri Lanka
 File under Signs & Portents:An 8.5-magnitude earthquake that may rank among the 10 strongest in the past century struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering aftershocks and giant tidal waves across India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. ``We don't have confirmation of any casualties yet,'' said Fauzi, an official at the Geology and Meteorology Office in Jakarta who goes by one name only. He said the earthquake created txunami waves as high as 5 meters (17 feet) along the north coast of Aceh province, knocking out at least one bridge. Six aftershocks of magnitude between 5.8 and 6.1 struck in the Bay of Bengal between the west coast of Thailand and India's east coast, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on its Web page. Nine Sumatrans died in flash floods triggered by the earthquake, Reuters reported, citing El Shinta radio in Jakarta, Tsunami waves killed at least 160 people in Sri Lanka and swept at least four foreign tourists out to sea at the popular Thai resort of Phuket, Agence France-Presse reported. ``The big waves in the Bay of Bengal are a result of the earthquake in Sumatra,'' A.K. Shukla, head of the Indian Meteorological Department, said in a phone interview from New Delhi. ``We expect the big waves to lash Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu for the next two days.'' The Indonesia earthquake, which struck about 7 a.m. local time, was a magnitude 8.5 earthquake, centered offshore about 1,605 kilometers northwest of the capital Jakarta at a depth of 10 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a preliminary report on the Web site. There were no immediate reports of damage to oil facilities in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest oil producer. ``As long as you don't see any damage to the facilities, especially the oil and gas pipelines, I don't see the impact as being significant,'' said Song Seng Wun, regional economist with G.K. Goh Holdings Ltd. in Singapore. Posted by: Seafarious 2004-12-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=52160 |