ASIA/INDONESIA - Earthquake in Sumatra, fear of tsunami nightmare returns

Thursday, 13 September 2007

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - People on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are still under shock after an earthquake hit the island yesterday 12 September and the national meteorological office announced that the tsunami warning alert had been raised due to numerous minor tremors felt in the west of Sumatra. This the 4th tsunami alert in less than 24 hours. The office said the quake had been registered as 6.7 magnitude Richter scale. A temporary death toll of 6 and 11 persons injured has been announced. But seismologists are on the alert expecting aftershocks of unpredictable entity.
The disaster has rekindled new fears of another tidal wave, like the tsunami which hit south east Asia on 26 December 2004 killing almost 168.000 Indonesians. The archipelago is situated in fact on what is called the Pacific Ocean 'fire belt' zone where plate tectonic meet causing frequent earth quakes and violent volcanic eruptions.
A tsunami is a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced. Earthquakes, mass movements above or below water, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions, landslides, large meteorite impacts and testing with nuclear weapons at sea all have the potential to generate a tsunami. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 13/9/2007 righe 24 parole 243)


Share: