Hundreds killed

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: A major earthquake struck late yesterday off the west coast of Indonesia, and a local government official said 296 people were killed in collapsed buildings. Thousands panicked in countries across the Indian Ocean as tsunami warnings were posted.  Fears of another catastrophe similar to December’s devastating tsunami eased within hours, as officials in countries closest to the quake’s epicentre said there were no reports of big waves striking their coasts after the temblor was reported.

Early reports of damage and casualties were confined to the island of Nias, off the Sumatran coast, close to the epicentre. The quake collapsed about 70 percent of houses and buildings in the town of Gunungsitoli, said police Sgt. Zulkifli Sirait. Agus Mendrofa, deputy district head on Nias island, told el-Shinta radio station that 296 people were  confirmed dead. He said this figure was based on reports from humanitarian workers on the island. “We still cannot count the number of casualties or the number of collapsed buildings because it is dark here,” Sirait said in a telephone interview. “It is possible that hundreds of people trapped in the collapsed buildings died.” Nias, a renowned surfing spot, was badly hit by the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami on December 26 that killed at least 175,000 people in 12 Indian Ocean nations and left another 106,000 missing. At least 340 residents of Nias perished and 10,000 were left homeless.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said Monday’s quake, which occurred at 11.09 pm local time measured a magnitude of 8.2. A later reading put the magnitude at 8.7, said Paul Earle, a USGS geophysicist. A tsunami warning was issued in Thailand and Sri Lanka, although officials later cancelled it. The only tsunami reported within four hours was a tiny one — less than four inches — at the Cocos Islands, a group of 27 islands about 1,400 miles west of Australia with a population of about 600, meteorologists in Sydney said. No damage was reported. “It seems this earthquake did not trigger a tsunami. If it had, the tsunami would have hit the coastline of Sumatra by now,” said Prihar Yadi, a scientist with the Indonesia Geophysics Agency. Indonesian officials said the epicentre was in the Indian Ocean about 56 miles south of the island of Simeulu, off Sumatra’s west coast, and just north of Nias. It was described by a USGS geologist as an aftershock of the devastating December 26 quake.

Yesterday’s quake had an epicentre about 110 miles southeast of where the December 26 quake was centred. The USGS said it occurred on a segment of the same fault line that triggered the December 26 quake, the world’s biggest in 40 years. Two aftershocks — one measuring 6.0 and another measuring 6.7 — were reported in the same region late yesterday and early today, the USGS said. The quake occurred at a depth of 18.6 miles, and was centred 125 west-northwest of Sibolga, Sumatra, and 150 miles southwest of Medan, Sumatra, the USGS said. The depth does not mean a lot for a quake this large, Earle said, calling it a near-surface earthquake and comparable to the one in December. After that quake, the agency initially recorded the depth of the temblor at six miles. Shallow earthquakes like that generally are more destructive because the seismic energy is closer to the surface and has shorter to travel.

Yesterday’s quake was considered to be at a moderate depth. In Banda Aceh, the Sumatran city hit hardest in December, yesterday’s quake spread panic as it briefly cut electricity. Thousands were awakened and poured into the streets.  The quake lasted about two minutes and felt like gentle swaying, like a rocking chair, causing people to feel dizzy. People grabbed small bags of clothes as they fled tents and homes. Many were crying and jumping into cars and onto motorbikes and pedicabs to head for higher ground. Two women wearing prayer shawls and sarongs grabbed a fence and chanted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great.”