Post by Paddy by Grace on May 9, 2010 17:23:48 GMT -7
Indonesia Hit by Magnitude 7.4 Quake, USGS Says (Update2)
www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-09/indonesia-hit-by-magnitude-7-4-quake-usgs-says-update2-.html
(Updates with tsunami alert canceled, no serious damage in second paragraph.)
By Ann Koh
May 9 (Bloomberg) -- A magnitude 7.4 earthquake rocked the northern Sumatra region of Indonesia at 12:59 p.m. local time, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake occurred at a depth of 61 kilometers (38 miles), about 214 kilometers south- southeast of Banda Aceh.
There were no reports of serious damage or injuries in Meulaboh at the northern tip of Sumatra island, or in nearby towns, Priadi Kardono, a spokesman at Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said by phone.
Residents who fled to higher ground when the quake occurred returned to town after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled a local tsunami alert. In general conditions are gradually returning to normal, Kardono said.
The strongest earthquake in 40 years struck off the shores of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, unleashing tidal waves that killed more than 6,500 people in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
The magnitude 8.9 quake, the fifth-strongest in a century, triggered aftershocks across 2,000 kilometers of water. Waves as high as 10 meters struck tourist resorts in Thailand, Malaysia, the Andaman Islands and the Maldives.
--With assistance from Yoga Rusmana in Jakarta: Editors: Mike Millard, Greg Ahlstrand.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Millard at mmillard2@bloomberg.net
www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-09/indonesia-hit-by-magnitude-7-4-quake-usgs-says-update2-.html
(Updates with tsunami alert canceled, no serious damage in second paragraph.)
By Ann Koh
May 9 (Bloomberg) -- A magnitude 7.4 earthquake rocked the northern Sumatra region of Indonesia at 12:59 p.m. local time, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake occurred at a depth of 61 kilometers (38 miles), about 214 kilometers south- southeast of Banda Aceh.
There were no reports of serious damage or injuries in Meulaboh at the northern tip of Sumatra island, or in nearby towns, Priadi Kardono, a spokesman at Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said by phone.
Residents who fled to higher ground when the quake occurred returned to town after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled a local tsunami alert. In general conditions are gradually returning to normal, Kardono said.
The strongest earthquake in 40 years struck off the shores of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, unleashing tidal waves that killed more than 6,500 people in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
The magnitude 8.9 quake, the fifth-strongest in a century, triggered aftershocks across 2,000 kilometers of water. Waves as high as 10 meters struck tourist resorts in Thailand, Malaysia, the Andaman Islands and the Maldives.
--With assistance from Yoga Rusmana in Jakarta: Editors: Mike Millard, Greg Ahlstrand.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Millard at mmillard2@bloomberg.net