'Odd Duck' Indonesia Quake Surprises Scientists
The massive earthquake off Indonesia surprised scientists: Usually this type of jolt isn't this powerful.
The biggest earthquakes tend to occur in subduction zones where one plate of the Earth's crust dives under another. This grind produced the 2004 magnitude-9.1 Indian Ocean disaster and the magnitude-9 Japan quake last year.
Wednesday's magnitude-8.6 occurred along a strike-slip fault line similar to California's San Andreas Fault. Scientists say it's rare for strike-slip quakes, in which blocks of rocks slide horizontally past each other, to be this large.
"It's clearly a bit of an odd duck," said seismologist Susan Hough of the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif.
As one of the world's most seismically active places, Indonesia is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. Pressure builds up in the rocks over time and is eventually released in an earthquake.
"A week ago, we wouldn't have thought we could have a strike-slip earthquake of this size. This is very, very large," said Kevin Furlong, a professor of geosciences at Penn State University.
So large, in fact, that the main shock went into the history books. Record-keeping by the USGS National Earthquake Information Center ranks Wednesday's shaker as the 11th largest since 1900. It's probably the largest strike-slip event though there's debate about whether a similar-sized Tibet quake in 1950 was the same kind.
A preliminary analysis indicates one side of the fault lurched 70 feet past the other — a major reason for the quake's size. By contrast, during the 1906 magnitude-7.8 San Francisco earthquake along the San Andreas — perhaps the best known strike-slip event — the ground shifted 15 feet.
The Sumatra coast has been rattled by three strong strike-slip quakes since 2004, but Wednesday's was the largest. end quote from:http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/odd-duck-indonesia-quake-surprises-scientists-16119962#.T4YBQY5Gj8A
Since 200,000 to 250,000 people died in the Pacific Region in 2004 from the Earthquake and Tsunami in Indonesia, India, Ceylon and Thailand and all the surrounding islands people realy panicked today worrying about another tsunami hit throughout the Pacific region of the last really big one in Indonesia.
Here is an article about the Panic in the India region after they felt the large quake there:
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8.6 magnitude quake in Aceh triggers tsunami fears in India
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2
Waves
of panic swept through India's eastern coast on Wednesday as cities
were rocked by tremors & repeated alerts of a possible tsunami being
triggered by a earthquake in Indonesia.
CHENNAI/KOLKATA: Waves of panic swept through India's eastern coast on
Wednesday afternoon as cities were rocked by tremors and repeated alerts
of a possible tsunami being triggered by a massive earthquake of 8.6 magnitude off the Indonesian coast.
The alert generated memories of the devastating tsunami of 2004 in which 2.4 lakh people had died worldwide. In India, more than 15,500 had died and scores of coastal villages and fishing hamlets were swept away in the tsunami. As the tsunami warning was sounded on Wednesday, soon after 2pm, the dreadful apprehension of a repeat catastrophe set in deep.
The anxiety lifted only around 3pm when the tsunami didn't hit Greater Nicobar where massive waves were supposed to reach within half an hour of the quake at 2.08pm.
Word came in that this quake was different - this time the plates had not moved vertically but horizontally, and this prevented displacement of huge volumes of sea water. By evening, there was a distinct sense of relief.
Beaches in Chennai, Puri and other cities along the coast were cleared as the armed forces went on a 'State 1' alert and warships in the region were put on 'hot stand-by' after a massive earthquake of 8.6 magnitude was reported off Indonesian coast. The Air Force ordered two C-130 and one IL-76 airborne with rescue personnel bound for Port Blair on the Andamans, which was the first casualty of the 2004 tsunami that also washed away hundreds of villages along the Tamil Nadu coast.
Security measures at several vital nuclear installations, including Kalpakkam and Kudankulam, were beefed up. Schools near the shoreline were shut immediately and parents rushed to fetch their kids as warnings flashed on radio and TV. Chennai port was ordered shut and containers, vessels and tankers towed away for safe mooring.
In Kolkata, the underground Metro service was suspended for nearly an hour as high-rise buildings were vacated in central Kolkata and Salt Lake City. Shoppers swarmed out of malls and audiences out of cinema halls and multiplexes, triggering massive traffic snarls in downtown Kolkata.
As people rushed out onto the streets after two rounds of tremors cascading from the Aceh quake, the National Disaster Management Authority flashed a tsunami warning, setting off the biggest disaster drill in the country since the NDMA was created. The threat subsided as no wall of water was seen rushing westward from Sumatra but the morning tested every aspect of the disaster drill and rescue response times.
Cops and medical personnel were out on the streets and phones jangled across the coastline with warnings as the Union home ministry asked secretaries of the Andaman and Nicobar islands and all east coast states to join any possible rescue effort. The government also readied six battalions of the National Disaster Response Force for deployment from New Delhi in case of an emergency and positioned six more teams in Chennai and 15 in Guntoor.
Union home secretary R K Singh, who reviewed the situation in the aftermath of the Aceh quake, said the panic, that lasted more than four hours, had died down along India's coastline and the government was ready to deal with any eventuality.
In the Andamans and Nicobar archipelago, sirens blared and rescuers rushed to the inhabited shores to evacuate people to higher ground in six of the most vulnerable islands which recorded more than 3,400 casualties in the last tsunami.
Along the Andhra coast, people ran out of offices and homes in Srikakulam, Tekkali, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Ongole, Nellore and Tirupati. As in Kolkata, some houses and apartments developed cracks and the tremors smashed glass panes at a few places in East Godavari and Srikakulam. end quote from:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/8-6-magnitude-quake-in-Aceh-triggers-tsunami-fears-in-India/articleshow/12629539.cms
next article from Australia:
People in Indonesia and Thailand have returned to their homes after
two massive earthquakes struck off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh
province, prompting a tsunami warning.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says "the threat is over for most areas" after a magnitude 8.6 quake triggered the warning across the Indian Ocean yesterday.
The warning was lifted two hours after a large magnitude 8.2 aftershock was recorded in the same area as the initial earthquake.
As night fell, people started returning to their homes after spending the afternoon moving to higher ground or moving out onto the streets.
The Indonesian island of Simeulue was closest to the earthquake.
Authorities say an 80-centimetre wave washed up on its shores.
Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent in a team of eight senior government officials to assess the situation on the island but their plane was unable to land due to damage to the runway.
For many, the greatest worry came from the revival of memories of the destruction caused by the 2004 tsunami, which was triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake.
On Simeulue island, residents of the village of Malasin recalled the shock as yesterday's quake struck.
"Everybody in the village rushed outside," 42-year-old resident Asnawi said.
"The ground was shaking very hard and it lasted about five minutes.
"All of us were panicking, children and women were screaming and crying.
"I was outside my house but my 11-year-old daughter and my wife were inside.
"I just screamed at them to get out quickly, because I was so scared that my house would collapse."
The homes in Malasin were newly built after the 2004 tsunami, but they are wooden huts that are still flimsy and vulnerable.
"The ceiling of my house has fallen and some windows were broken," Asnawi said, adding that his home was completely destroyed in the deadly 2004 tsunami, which claimed 170,000 lives in Banda Aceh province, 150 kilometres away.
In Thailand, tourists and residents have also been returning to their homes and hotels after initial evacuations.
Thousands of people were evacuated along the Andaman coast, the same area affected by the 2004 tsunami.
Most waited on hillsides and the roofs of high-rise hotels for a number of hours before the warnings were lifted.
The government system of fixed sirens and loudspeakers put in place after 2004 to urge evacuation seemed to work effectively according to residents.
The mobile phone network crashed due to the volume of calls, but was soon restored.
Malaysia also evacuated residents on the west coast until warnings were lifted. end quote from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-12/people-return-as-tsunami-threat-ends/3944848/?site=newcastle
When I woke up this morning to go to get some blood work done since I didn't have an appointment and was just going to walk in I decided I didn't feel well enough to do it. People who are sensitive to earthquakes on earth like myself often feel ill both before and during the event. It was sort of like, "There's a disturbance in the Force, Luke" like in Star Wars when the planet was blown up. So, since nothing felt right inside or outside of my body I went back to bed and didn't find out until an hour or two ago that the 8.6 and 8.2 earthquakes had taken place in Bandah Aceh Indonesia.
In the 2004 Earthquake near Christmas Day in the U.S. I had been worried for about a month because the Heaven realms had come closer to earth. I wasn't sure what this meant but I was worried it might be I or my whole family that might die. So, when I woke near Christmas at my father in Laws house and he was watching the horrific afermath on CNN TV of the 2004 quake and terrible tsunami throughout the Western Pacific Ocean Basin I felt strangely relieved that at least my family and I were not going to die even as I felt compassion for all those (around 250,000) that had and were dying there then. However, because the Heaven realms had drawn nearer to earth than I had ever seen before I knew they would be okay on the other side so I felt relieved for them in this sense.
The alert generated memories of the devastating tsunami of 2004 in which 2.4 lakh people had died worldwide. In India, more than 15,500 had died and scores of coastal villages and fishing hamlets were swept away in the tsunami. As the tsunami warning was sounded on Wednesday, soon after 2pm, the dreadful apprehension of a repeat catastrophe set in deep.
The anxiety lifted only around 3pm when the tsunami didn't hit Greater Nicobar where massive waves were supposed to reach within half an hour of the quake at 2.08pm.
Word came in that this quake was different - this time the plates had not moved vertically but horizontally, and this prevented displacement of huge volumes of sea water. By evening, there was a distinct sense of relief.
Beaches in Chennai, Puri and other cities along the coast were cleared as the armed forces went on a 'State 1' alert and warships in the region were put on 'hot stand-by' after a massive earthquake of 8.6 magnitude was reported off Indonesian coast. The Air Force ordered two C-130 and one IL-76 airborne with rescue personnel bound for Port Blair on the Andamans, which was the first casualty of the 2004 tsunami that also washed away hundreds of villages along the Tamil Nadu coast.
Security measures at several vital nuclear installations, including Kalpakkam and Kudankulam, were beefed up. Schools near the shoreline were shut immediately and parents rushed to fetch their kids as warnings flashed on radio and TV. Chennai port was ordered shut and containers, vessels and tankers towed away for safe mooring.
In Kolkata, the underground Metro service was suspended for nearly an hour as high-rise buildings were vacated in central Kolkata and Salt Lake City. Shoppers swarmed out of malls and audiences out of cinema halls and multiplexes, triggering massive traffic snarls in downtown Kolkata.
As people rushed out onto the streets after two rounds of tremors cascading from the Aceh quake, the National Disaster Management Authority flashed a tsunami warning, setting off the biggest disaster drill in the country since the NDMA was created. The threat subsided as no wall of water was seen rushing westward from Sumatra but the morning tested every aspect of the disaster drill and rescue response times.
Cops and medical personnel were out on the streets and phones jangled across the coastline with warnings as the Union home ministry asked secretaries of the Andaman and Nicobar islands and all east coast states to join any possible rescue effort. The government also readied six battalions of the National Disaster Response Force for deployment from New Delhi in case of an emergency and positioned six more teams in Chennai and 15 in Guntoor.
Union home secretary R K Singh, who reviewed the situation in the aftermath of the Aceh quake, said the panic, that lasted more than four hours, had died down along India's coastline and the government was ready to deal with any eventuality.
In the Andamans and Nicobar archipelago, sirens blared and rescuers rushed to the inhabited shores to evacuate people to higher ground in six of the most vulnerable islands which recorded more than 3,400 casualties in the last tsunami.
Along the Andhra coast, people ran out of offices and homes in Srikakulam, Tekkali, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Ongole, Nellore and Tirupati. As in Kolkata, some houses and apartments developed cracks and the tremors smashed glass panes at a few places in East Godavari and Srikakulam. end quote from:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/8-6-magnitude-quake-in-Aceh-triggers-tsunami-fears-in-India/articleshow/12629539.cms
next article from Australia:
People return home as tsunami threat ends
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Updated
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says "the threat is over for most areas" after a magnitude 8.6 quake triggered the warning across the Indian Ocean yesterday.
The warning was lifted two hours after a large magnitude 8.2 aftershock was recorded in the same area as the initial earthquake.
As night fell, people started returning to their homes after spending the afternoon moving to higher ground or moving out onto the streets.
The Indonesian island of Simeulue was closest to the earthquake.
Authorities say an 80-centimetre wave washed up on its shores.
Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent in a team of eight senior government officials to assess the situation on the island but their plane was unable to land due to damage to the runway.
For many, the greatest worry came from the revival of memories of the destruction caused by the 2004 tsunami, which was triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake.
On Simeulue island, residents of the village of Malasin recalled the shock as yesterday's quake struck.
"Everybody in the village rushed outside," 42-year-old resident Asnawi said.
"The ground was shaking very hard and it lasted about five minutes.
"All of us were panicking, children and women were screaming and crying.
"I was outside my house but my 11-year-old daughter and my wife were inside.
"I just screamed at them to get out quickly, because I was so scared that my house would collapse."
The homes in Malasin were newly built after the 2004 tsunami, but they are wooden huts that are still flimsy and vulnerable.
"The ceiling of my house has fallen and some windows were broken," Asnawi said, adding that his home was completely destroyed in the deadly 2004 tsunami, which claimed 170,000 lives in Banda Aceh province, 150 kilometres away.
In Thailand, tourists and residents have also been returning to their homes and hotels after initial evacuations.
Thousands of people were evacuated along the Andaman coast, the same area affected by the 2004 tsunami.
Most waited on hillsides and the roofs of high-rise hotels for a number of hours before the warnings were lifted.
The government system of fixed sirens and loudspeakers put in place after 2004 to urge evacuation seemed to work effectively according to residents.
The mobile phone network crashed due to the volume of calls, but was soon restored.
Malaysia also evacuated residents on the west coast until warnings were lifted. end quote from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-12/people-return-as-tsunami-threat-ends/3944848/?site=newcastle
When I woke up this morning to go to get some blood work done since I didn't have an appointment and was just going to walk in I decided I didn't feel well enough to do it. People who are sensitive to earthquakes on earth like myself often feel ill both before and during the event. It was sort of like, "There's a disturbance in the Force, Luke" like in Star Wars when the planet was blown up. So, since nothing felt right inside or outside of my body I went back to bed and didn't find out until an hour or two ago that the 8.6 and 8.2 earthquakes had taken place in Bandah Aceh Indonesia.
In the 2004 Earthquake near Christmas Day in the U.S. I had been worried for about a month because the Heaven realms had come closer to earth. I wasn't sure what this meant but I was worried it might be I or my whole family that might die. So, when I woke near Christmas at my father in Laws house and he was watching the horrific afermath on CNN TV of the 2004 quake and terrible tsunami throughout the Western Pacific Ocean Basin I felt strangely relieved that at least my family and I were not going to die even as I felt compassion for all those (around 250,000) that had and were dying there then. However, because the Heaven realms had drawn nearer to earth than I had ever seen before I knew they would be okay on the other side so I felt relieved for them in this sense.
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