Post by Paddy by Grace on Jan 5, 2009 6:51:35 GMT -7
Always, check this map: hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/?area=&lang=eng
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCOCIcn_51vat6BwlYQjZlU9tuWg
MANOKWARI, Indonesia (AFP) — Two powerful earthquakes rattled Indonesia's West Papua province early Sunday, triggering panic among residents but there were no immediate reports of any casualties or heavy damage.
The first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday), about 150 kilometres northwest of the city of Manokwari, the US Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami alert that was later withdrawn.
It was followed almost three hours later at 2233 GMT by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock, the US agency said.
Both quakes were fairly shallow, with the first hitting at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) and the second at 45 kilometres.
Distressed residents ran out of their homes as the quake rattled Manokwari, the seaside capital of the province, but there were no immediate signs of heavy damage or injuries, an AFP correspondent in the town said.
Thousands of residents including children and the elderly could be seen thronging the roads of the town in the darkness of a blackout and heading away from the sea despite the tsunami warning being lifted.
Little damage could be seen initially in the town apart from cracked walls.
"The quake was quite strong and we felt it for about three minutes. The electricity blacked out after the quake," a policeman who identified himself as Ketut said.
"The police and military are working right now to help people get to higher ground due to the tsunami alert and the fact that we're on the coast," he said.
Several smaller aftershocks were also reported in the hours following the first quake, Indonesian seismologists said.
Indonesia, which sits at the meeting of continental plates, is frequently hit by earthquakes and tsunamis.
The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which was triggered by a massive quake off the coast of Indonesia, killed at least 168,000 people in the country's Aceh province and Nias island.
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCOCIcn_51vat6BwlYQjZlU9tuWg
MANOKWARI, Indonesia (AFP) — Two powerful earthquakes rattled Indonesia's West Papua province early Sunday, triggering panic among residents but there were no immediate reports of any casualties or heavy damage.
The first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday), about 150 kilometres northwest of the city of Manokwari, the US Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami alert that was later withdrawn.
It was followed almost three hours later at 2233 GMT by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock, the US agency said.
Both quakes were fairly shallow, with the first hitting at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) and the second at 45 kilometres.
Distressed residents ran out of their homes as the quake rattled Manokwari, the seaside capital of the province, but there were no immediate signs of heavy damage or injuries, an AFP correspondent in the town said.
Thousands of residents including children and the elderly could be seen thronging the roads of the town in the darkness of a blackout and heading away from the sea despite the tsunami warning being lifted.
Little damage could be seen initially in the town apart from cracked walls.
"The quake was quite strong and we felt it for about three minutes. The electricity blacked out after the quake," a policeman who identified himself as Ketut said.
"The police and military are working right now to help people get to higher ground due to the tsunami alert and the fact that we're on the coast," he said.
Several smaller aftershocks were also reported in the hours following the first quake, Indonesian seismologists said.
Indonesia, which sits at the meeting of continental plates, is frequently hit by earthquakes and tsunamis.
The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which was triggered by a massive quake off the coast of Indonesia, killed at least 168,000 people in the country's Aceh province and Nias island.