Solar Energy News  
SHAKE AND BLOW
Powerful quake in western in Indonesia sparks panic
by Staff Writers
Padang, Indonesia (AFP) March 2, 2016


A powerful and shallow earthquake struck Wednesday off Indonesia's Sumatra island, sending panicked residents rushing from their homes in a region hit hard by quakes and tsunamis in the past.

Local authorities initially issued a tsunami warning but lifted it several hours later, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The 7.8 magnitude undersea quake struck at a depth of 24 kilometres (15 miles) at about 6:50 pm (1250 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

The epicentre was several hundred kilometres from the Mentawai Islands, a small chain southwest of the country's main western island of Sumatra.

The quake was felt strongly in Padang, a major city on western Sumatra, sparking panic. An AFP journalist there said people ran from their homes and fled to higher ground by motorbike, car or on foot.

Traffic ground to a halt and there was a sense of panic on the streets, the journalist said.

The local BMKG quake-monitoring agency issued a tsunami alert for several provinces with coastlines on western Sumatra but later lifted the warning.

The small Mentawai archipelago is regularly hit by quakes and in 2010 was devastated by a quake-triggered tsunami that left hundreds dead.

Aceh province on the tip of Sumatra was devastated by a quake-triggered tsunami in 2004. The tsunami killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia and tens of thousands more in other countries around the Indian Ocean.

- Warning sirens -

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said tsunami warning sirens were after the earthquake activated and "people responded to the early warning by evacuating to higher places".

Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, said there had not been any reports of casualties so far.

"In the Mentawai Islands, there has been no reports of damage and people have been evacuating to higher areas," he told AFP.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes strong seismic activity, and is frequently hit by earthquakes.

Hundreds died when a major quake struck near Padang in 2009.

Plans for evacuation shelters and improved roads to provide better escape routes from tsunamis since 2004 have mostly not been realised, according to experts.

In Australia, to the east of the Indonesian archipelago, authorities said there was no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland but issued a marine threat to Cocos Island and Christmas Island off the east coast.

Evacuations were not required, according to the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre, but there was a possibility of dangerous waves and strong currents.

People in Christmas Island were advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge.

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre, a government agency for the Indian Ocean island where tens of thousands died in the 2004 disaster, did not issue a tsunami warning Wednesday, but said it was monitoring the situation.

strs-dsa-sr/jv


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
SHAKE AND BLOW
Moderate 5.9 magnitude quake hits NW Pakistan
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Feb 21, 2016
A moderate 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, with tremors felt in different cities, but officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountain range inside Afghanistan at a depth of 157 kilometres (97 miles), senior Pakistani meteorological official Mushtaq Shah told AFP. The quake was felt in dif ... read more


SHAKE AND BLOW
Biofuels from algae: A budding technology yet to become viable

A new recipe for biofuel

Researchers' new advance in quest for second generation biofuels

Improving biorefineries with bubbles

SHAKE AND BLOW
Microrobots learn from ciliates

Automatic programming makes swarm robots safer and more reliable

Help NASA Create Better Vision for Robonaut

Boston Dynamics robot learns from being bullied

SHAKE AND BLOW
Adwen Chooses Sentient Science For Computational Gearbox Testing

EU boasts of strides in renewable energy

Offshore U.K. to host world's largest wind farm

Germany aims to build wind energy reputation

SHAKE AND BLOW
US questions Mercedes-Benz on diesel car emissions

Peugeot Citroen reveals 'real-world' fuel consumption

US judge gives VW a month to present diesel fix plan

Google takes some blame in self-driving car bang-up

SHAKE AND BLOW
Creation of Jupiter interior, a step towards room temp superconductivity

Quantum phase transition underpins superconductivity in copper oxides

New material to enhance battery life

Understanding how turbulence drains heat from fusion reactors

SHAKE AND BLOW
Glitch halts Japan reactor days after restart: utility

Mexico issues alert after theft of radioactive material

Japan restarts another reactor, fourth since tsunami disaster shutdown

Fifth year of losses for Areva on Finnish provisions

SHAKE AND BLOW
Europe 2030: Energy saving to become 'first fuel'

New model maps energy usage of every building in Boston

The forecast for renewable energy in 2016

US, Canada and Mexico sign clean energy pact

SHAKE AND BLOW
New insights into the seasonality of Amazon's evergreen forests

Synchronized leaf aging in the Amazon responsible for seasonal increases in photosynthesis

NASA, Partner Space Agencies Measure Forests In Gabon

Temperature changes wreak ecological havoc in deforested areas









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.