Monday, October 25, 2010

Magnitude 7.7 - Kepulauan Mentawai, West Sumatra, October 25, 2010

A magnitude of 7.7 earthquake struck Kepulauan Mentawai region of Sumatra on Monday, October 25, 2010 at 09:42:22 PM local time. Tsunami warning reported but was lifted after an hour. No causalities and damage reported yet. The earthquake caused panic reaction to the residents of the island and nearby major city of Padang, strong shake also felt by the residents of nearby cities of Bengkulu and reach as far as Jambi region. The epicenter of the quake was in the position of 3.464°S, 100.084°E with the uncertainty of horizontal +/- 14.1 km (8.8 miles); depth +/- 14.2 km (8.8 miles). Aftershocks with magnitude range of 5.5 still happen in the region.

Maps

Update: tsunami hits the remote Mentawai Islands, destroyed villages in the south of the island chain and sweeping scores out to sea. The authority informs that the surge reached as high as three meters and advanced as far as half kilometer inland. The scale of the destruction did not become clear until Tuesday, October 26, 2010 as rescuers and local officials crossed a Sumatran strait to reach the islands. At least 113 people killed, more than 500 are still missing and thousands survivors left homeless, the death toll expected to rise. Electricity and telecommunication system in the area are currently disconnected.

Figure caption: Destroyed houses at Betumonga village, Sipora island, Mentawai (Kompas)


Figure caption: A rescue team loaded a ship in Padang, West Sumatra on Tuesday to prepare for the evacuation and rescue of victims of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami. (New York Times)

1 comments:

Fatiha said...

An earthquake that caused a volcano to erupt, and a tsunami is very infrequent. I feel sorry for all the people who lost their lives, had loved ones gone or got injured, or had their loved ones injured. I wonder why this wasn't shown on TV. Of course, obviously,the media wouldn't even show this disastrous event. Americans probably wouldn't even try to help those that are hurt. Well, they probably wouldn't want to help any Indonesians. All that fuss with Haiti, I never heard a word of that earthquake. At least we should have donated some things to help all those people. It's really sad that the American media likes showing 24/7 coverage on trivial things, but when it comes to real news, they hardly ever give ANY coverage.

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