ASIAN QUAKE SPARKS PANIC~~~~Death toll could reach 2,000, but no tsunami is expected in region haunted by Dec. 26 disaster
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
New York Times
chron.com
March 29, 2005, 12:41AM
NEW DELHI - Just three months after a deadly tsunami punched through the Indian Ocean, a powerful underwater earthquake struck again late Monday off the west coast of Indonesia, sending a ripple of panic and public warnings across a still traumatized region.
Monday's quake, which measured an estimated 8.7 in magnitude, hit shortly after 11 p.m. about 200 miles along the same fault as the more powerful Dec. 26 earthquake that killed at least 175,000 people in 12 Indian Ocean countries.
Early signs seemed to indicate that this time the quake did not inflict anywhere near the damage. The one glaring exception was the Indonesian island of Nias, where 1,000 to 2,000 people were feared dead, Indonesia's vice president, Jusuf Kalla, said on Al Shinta radio.
Two people were also reportedly killed in Sri Lanka during a panicky evacuation from the coast in a Tamil rebel-held area.
Fears of a second tsunami catastrophe eased within hours, as officials in countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of earthquake-spawned waves that ravaged a dozen countries in Asia and Africa in December.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck about 19 miles under the seabed, some 155 miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on Sumatra island. It was centered just 110 miles southwest of December's 9.0-magnitude temblor — the world's most powerful in 40 years.
There were no reports of damage or casualties in Banda Aceh, where the quake lasted two minutes and briefly cut electricity. Thousands poured into the streets, where flickering campfires and motorbike and car headlights provided the only lighting.
People grabbed small bags of clothes as they fled their tents and homes. Many were crying and jumping into cars and onto motorbikes and pedicabs to head for higher ground.
"People are still traumatized, still scared, they are running for higher ground," said Feri, a 24-year-old aid volunteer who goes by one name.
In Sri Lanka, warning sirens blared along the east coast and President Chandrika Kumaratunga urged people to evacuate to higher ground.
"It was like reliving the same horror of three months ago," said Fatheena Faleel, who fled her home with her three children after seeing the warning on television, according to the Associated Press.
In Malaysia, residents fled shaking apartments and hotels.
"I was getting ready for bed, and suddenly, the room started shaking," said Jessie Chong, a resident of Kuala Lumpur. "I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then I heard my neighbors screaming and running out."
Alessandra Cilas Boas, the communications manager for Oxfam in Banda Aceh, said by telephone that the tremors were so severe that cars parked "were moving backward and forward" on the street.
"It was hard to walk," she said as she and her colleagues rushed out of their compound.
Reuters quoted Agus Mendrofa, deputy mayor of Gunungsitoli, the main town on the Indonesian island of Nias, as saying that buildings had been flattened and townspeople trapped inside.
"Gunungsitoli is now like a dead town," he said. "The situation here is in extreme panic."
In the Thai resort island of Phuket, Wayne Graham, a Canadian real estate agent who lives 200 yards from the shore, said that as soon as the earthquake hit there was immediate worry of another tsunami. From his house, Graham said he could see Thai military boats scouring the sea for any changes signaling a tsunami. "We were nervous and on standby," he said.
Some of his neighbors fled to higher ground, Graham said, but he decided to stay put. By watching CNN and BBC, he said he could gauge quite quickly that another tsunami was not going to happen.
"I could tell 15 minutes after the earthquake there was no sign of another tsunami," he said.
Scientists said it was too early to conclude that the quake had generated no tsunami at all, particularly along the coast of Sumatra.
The only tsunami reported was a small one — 10 inches — at the Cocos Islands, 1,400 miles west of Australia. Hours later, Australian meterologists reported a tsunami-caused wave of 10 to 20 inches hitting to the north and south of the Western state capital Perth.
Monday's quake pointed once again to the lack of a tsunami early warning system in Asia. "A little bit stronger earthquake and we could have had a major tsunami in the middle of the night," said Jan Egeland, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator. "We need that early warning system." |
