SUMATRA - THE QUAKES PERSIST

2007

70 dead - 3-6-07

compiled by Dee Finney

EARTHQUAKE on 06/03/2007 at 03:49 (UTC)
SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA            11 km SE Bukittinggi

MAGNITUDE: Mw 6.3

Data provided by: BEO  BRA  BUC  GFU  GFZ  GSRC GSSA INGV LED  NEIC
                  NEWS ZAMG                                        

Latitude    =   0.39 S
Longitude   = 100.43 E
Origin Time =  03:49:38.1 (UTC)
Depth       =  10 Km
RMS         =   1.26 sec
Gap         =  52 degrees
95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 8.9 Km
                        - Semi minor = 5.4 Km
                        - Azimuth of major axis =  33 degrees

Number of data used = 136

Preliminary location computed on Tue Mar  6 06:55:06 2007 (UTC)
Done by Bruno Hernandez

Comments :

Message number: 840

All magnitudes estimations :
mb5.9 (BEO)   mb6.0 (BRA)   mb5.8 (BUC)   mb5.8 (BUC)  
mb5.5 (GFZ)   MS6.4 (GSRC)  MS6.4 (GSSA)  mb5.9 (INGV) 
mb5.9 (NEIC)  M 6.3 (NEIC)  mb4.8 (NEWS)               

P.S.: For additional information, please contact EMSC at:
             - Email: mazet[at]emsc-csem.org
             - Web  : http://www.emsc-csem.org (maps available)
             - Fax  : 33 1 69 26 70 00

 

EARTHQUAKE on 06/03/2007 at 05:49 (UTC)
SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA            7 km NE Batutabal

MAGNITUDE: Mw 6.1

Data provided by: BEO  BUC  GFU  GFZ  LED  LJU  NEIC NEWS ODC  RNS 
                  SED  ZAMG                                        

Latitude    =   0.50 S
Longitude   = 100.55 E
Origin Time =  05:49:28.7 (UTC)
Depth       =  40 Km
RMS         =   0.82 sec
Gap         =  95 degrees
95% confidence ellipse: - Semi major = 7.4 Km
                        - Semi minor = 3.4 Km
                        - Azimuth of major axis =  36 degrees

Number of data used = 158

Preliminary location computed on Tue Mar  6 06:41:09 2007 (UTC)
Done by Bruno Hernandez

Comments :

Message number: 839

All magnitudes estimations :
mb6.3 (BEO)   mb6.0 (BUC)   mb5.7 (GFZ)   mb5.8 (LED)  
M 6.1 (NEIC)  mb5.1 (NEWS)  mb5.1 (NEWS)  mb5.3 (NEWS) 
mb6.1 (ODC)   mb5.4 (RNS)   mb6.2 (SED)   mb5.9 (ZAMG) 

P.S.: For additional information, please contact EMSC at:
             - Email: mazet[at]emsc-csem.org
             - Web  : http://www.emsc-csem.org (maps available)
             - Fax  : 33 1 69 26 70 00

Indonesian quake kills at least 70
06/03/2007 - 18:58:47

A powerful earthquake jolted western Indonesia today, killing at least 70 people and injuring hundreds as they fled shaking buildings, crumpled homes and hospitals, authorities said. Two school children were crushed by debris on a playground.

The 6.3-magnitude quake struck on Sumatra island just before 11am and was felt as far away as neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, where some tall buildings were evacuated. Several aftershocks followed, the strongest measuring 6.1, adding to fears of people already too nervous to return indoors.

Many said they would sleep in front of their homes or in the hills tonight.

“Women were crying out in terror. We all just fled as quickly as we could,” said Alpion, a welder who joined thousands of others running to higher ground, fearing a tsunami that never came.

Indonesia straddles one of the world’s most seismically violent zones and has been hit by a string of natural disasters in recent years, the most deadly being the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed 160,000 people on Sumatra’s northern tip.

At least 70 people were killed by the quake, which hit the island’s western coast, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi told reporters in the capital, Jakarta.

The worst-affected area appeared to be Solok, a bustling town close to the epicentre where two children were killed when a two-story building collapsed on the school playground, said police spokesman Supriadi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. Three family members were burned alive when their collapsed home burst into flames.

Dozens of buildings were destroyed and hundreds others damaged, according to local police chief Lt Col Budi Sarwono.

TV footage showed a flattened three-storey home and thick cracks in the road.

“My house is on the brink of collapse,” said Imelda Kusmawati, as she prepared to spend the night in an army tent with her two children and six other families. “I am still traumatised and worried about aftershocks.”

Patients poured into hospitals, many of them with broken bones and cuts, but most were treated outside because of fears of more quakes. Scores were laid out on cots on a soccer field, where they were attached to intravenous drips and given emergency care.

“So far we have recovered 19 bodies and hundreds of injured people,” Sarwono said. “The two hospitals are overwhelmed.”

Thousands of Indonesians are spending the night in the open after a powerful earthquake which destroyed many homes and left at least 70 people dead.

Many are afraid to return to their homes, while others have no home left.

The authorities fear the death toll may rise as search teams sift through the rubble, but hope some of those missing may be pulled out alive.

The 6.3 magnitude quake struck close to the city of Padang in the west of Sumatra island on Tuesday morning.

The quake and a powerful aftershock had caused panic among residents, bringing many rushing out of their homes and offices.

"I ran out of the house, but I was hit by a collapsing building," said Misbadi, 50, who broke his arm and was one of thousands of people who headed to hospitals in Padang.

Treatment areas were set up outside amid fears of aftershocks.

It was like the being in a ship where you were swayed around when there were big waves   Solok resident   Eyewitness accounts

"Women were crying out in terror. We all just fled as quickly as we could," said Alpion, who ran with many others to higher ground, fearing a tsunami.

None came, as the quake struck land rather than under water.

Many said they were too frightened to return to their homes.

In remoter parts, efforts to provide assistance were complicated by electricity cuts and damage to transport links.

Rescue workers said hundreds of buildings had been brought down, although the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Jakarta says many of these are likely to be small, wooden houses.

Communications cut

The epicentre of the quake was about 50km (30 miles) north-east of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra.

RECENT INDONESIAN QUAKES 6 March 2007: Magnitude 6.3 quake hits Sumatra, at least 70 dead 18 December 2006: Mag 5.7 quake hits Sumatra, seven dead 17 July 2006: Tsunami from Mag 7.7 quake off Java kills 500 27 May 2006: Mag 6.2 quake near Yogyakarta kills 5,000 26 December 2004: Tsunami from Mag 9.1 quake kills 130,000 in Sumatra

Officials said 18 people had been killed in the town of Solok, while 16 were killed in Tanah Datar.

The mayor of Solok, Samsurahim, said he could not say how many people were still trapped in the rubble.

It may be some time before the final number of dead and injured and the full extent of the damage are known.

Christelle Chapoy, from the aid charity Oxfam's earthquake response team, told the BBC her organisation was ready to assist.

"We have a standby emergency response team based in Yogyakarta [on Java], and they're collecting information from our local partners at this stage," she said from Banda Aceh in northern Sumatra.

The Dutch government was one of the first to pledge help, earmarking 1.5m euros (£1m), while a "saddened" UN chief Ban Ki-moon said his organisation was ready to step in with assistance.

Ring of fire

The quake was also felt hundreds of kilometres away in parts of Malaysia, and several tall buildings in Singapore's business district swayed slightly.

Indonesia sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, and experiences frequent earthquakes - as well as tsunamis triggered by underwater earthquakes.

Last year, more than 500 people died when a tsunami hit an area of the Java coast after an undersea earthquake.

And in the Asian tsunami of December 2004, more than 130,000 people died in Sumatra when waves destroyed swathes of the province of Aceh.

 

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