Sumatra Earthquake
A powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck western Indonesia's Sumatra Island on Tues., Mar. 6, 2007.
An Indonesian woman holds her child near a house that was destroyed after an earthquake in the area in West Sumatra, Indonesia on Tues., Mar. 6, 2007.Two powerful inland earthquakes rattled the Indonesian island of Sumatra in March 6th, 2007, leveling hundreds of buildings and killing at least 80 people, according to government officials in Jakarta. The death toll was expected to increase as rescue workers continued to dig through the rubble of collapsed buildings. Officials said an accurate count of the dead was not yet possible.
The 5.8 Magnitude, or 6.3 on the Richter scale, earthquake on Sumatra island, occurring at 11.00am western Indonesia time, was felt hundreds of kilometers away in Singapore, where some office buildings were evacuated, and in neighboring Malaysia.
The tremors were most strongly felt in a number of West Sumatran towns including Solok, Tanah Datar, Padang Panjang, Padang Pariaman, and Bukit Tinggi, and also in Riau province. In Solok, the worst hit area, the natural disaster caused a school fire, killing four elementary students. Hospitals were said to be overflowing with patients, many of them with broken bones and cuts. At least one hospital was evacuated, sending panicked doctors and nurses fleeing with startled patients limping behind.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 33 kilometers below Solok, on Sumatra’s western coast, shattering windows and toppling power lines. It was followed by several strong aftershocks. The tremor and at least one of the aftershocks was felt in Singapore, 430 kilometers from the epicenter, forcing the evacuation of several older office buildings. And in Malaysia’s southern coastal city of Johor, citizens fled offices, buildings and shopping centers, eyewitnesses said.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
posted by Bear Bear World @ 11:32 PM
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