TSUNAMI ALERT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Residents in Banda Aceh are moving to higher ground
  • A tsunami watch has been issued for the Indian Ocean
  • The 8.7 magnitude quake took place off the coast of Aceh
  • The Indonesian province was devastated by a tsunami in 2004
(CNN) -- A massive earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday, triggering a tsunami alert for the Indian Ocean.
The quake struck about 430 kilometers from Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia's Aceh province, and had a magnitude of 8.7, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It took place at a depth of 33 kilometers.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it had issued a tsunami watch for the entire Indian Ocean, and the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said it had put up a tsunami warning.
The power has gone out in Banda Aceh and residents are moving to higher ground, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency.
The extent of the damage is still being assessed.
In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude underwater earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 14 countries. Aceh was one of the worse affected areas.
The tsunami, which washed away entire communities, caused nearly $10 billion in damage and more casualties than any other tsunami in history, according to the United Nations.
Indonesia is on the so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

SOURCE:WWW.CCN.COM

Comments

  1. Let us pray that there is no tsunami or any other disaster. Let us pray that there is no loss of life or property in Indonesia.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amen. May God prevent it from ever happening.

    ReplyDelete

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