Triggering a tsunami warning that sent islanders rushing to high ground, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits off the southwestern coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, yesterday.
An official said the potential for a tsunami was small. No tsunami threat to Indian coast, the Indian government issued a statement. The U.S. Geological Service said, the earthquake was centered under the ocean at a depth of 24 kilometers (15 miles).
Keeping in mind that the shallow earthquakes are expected to cause more damage, the USGS still said, the quake was located far from land, about 659 kilometers from the town of Muara Siberut.
Andi Eka Sakya, head of Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, said that, there was only a very small potential for a tsunami, and even, no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
“I think its potential for a tsunami is very small,” because the quake didn’t occur along a major fault known as a subduction zone, he said.
Indonesia, is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines, circling the Pacific Basin.
In 2004, 9.1 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in about 12 countries. Most of such deaths took place in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Sumatra.
Marjina, a resident of Sikakap in the Mentawai Islands, about 690 kilometers (430 miles) from the epicenter, said the quake was felt only weakly there, but the tsunami warning caused panic among villagers, making them run to the higher ground.
One of the residents of Siberut island, which is closest to the epicenter, said people who got shifted to higher ground, were waiting to come back, after the tsunami warning gets lifted.
Distant Cocos and Christmas islands were issued a marine warning from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. However, the bureau did not advise evacuations, but said strong and dangerous currents were possible and people should secure boats and avoid waterfront areas. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center issued, but then canceled a tsunami watch for Western Australia.
By Phani Ch
