Indonesia quake kills at least 57 people

[HURAKAN]

Deadly earthquake hits Indonesia

At least 15 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck near the Indonesian island of Java.

Dozens of properties collapsed in the city of Tasikmalaya on the west of the island and thousands of people have been evacuated, officials said.

The magnitude 7.0 quake also damaged buildings in the university city of Bandung, also close to the epicentre.

In the capital, Jakarta, 200km (120 miles) north, hundreds fled into the streets from offices and shops.

Swaying and shaking

One eyewitness, who gave his name as Jonathan, told the BBC News website he was on the 28th floor of an office block in Jakarta when the quake struck.

"I went into the meeting room and took shelter under the table. It went on for about a minute I think - scary.

"It was like being in a boat on rough water, the building swaying from side to side. The doors were flapping, books fell off piles," he said.

And in Bandung an eyewitness told reporters: "We were all studying and the building we were in started shaking for a few minutes and the ceiling fell."

Some people were killed in a rock slide on the southern coast, according to reports, while others died when buildings collapsed in the district of Cianjur, in Tasikmalaya and in the town of Sukabumi.

Officials said dozens more people were injured, including at least 27 in Jakarta.

Medical teams have been dispatched to Tasikmalaya, nearest the epicentre, where the damaged properties included the mayor's home and a mosque.

Hundreds of people took shelter in a military base in the city, fearing aftershocks.

The epicentre was offshore, about 115km (70 miles) south-west of Tasikmalaya, at a depth of about 50km.

The quake was felt 500km away in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, and on the resort island of Bali.

The US Geological Survey lowered its magnitude reading from 7.4 to 7.0 and local tsunami warnings issued soon after the quake were later withdrawn.

Seismologists recorded a slight rise in the sea level at Pelabuhan Ratu off the west of the island, indicating there had been a small tsunami.

In December 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people around Asia.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most active areas for earthquakes and volcanic activity in the world.

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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/a ... 233344.stm

[HURAKAN]

[HURAKAN]

Powerful earthquake kills 44 in Indonesia, dozens feared buried

Very tragic

[HURAKAN]

Indonesian quake leaves 57 dead, dozens missing

Death toll keeps rising

[vbhoutex]

We have friends in Jakarta(I think that is where they are) that are just about to come back to the states. Fortunately they posted on Facebook that they are ok but definitely rattled. Not sure they have ever been through an earthquake before.

[HURAKAN]

An overview of deadly Indonesian earthquakes

By The Associated Press (AP) – 1 day ago

A look at some earthquakes in Indonesia since 2000:

_ Sept. 2, 2009: A magnitude-7.0 quake damages thousands of buildings across densely populated Java island, killing at least 46 and injuring more than 100.

_ Sept. 13, 2007: A 7.8-magnitude quake rattles Sumatra island, triggering regional tsunami alerts and damaging scores of buildings.

_ Sept. 12, 2007: An 8.4-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggers a small nondestructive wave in the coastal city of Padang. The tremor kills at least 25 people and injures around 50.

_ Aug. 8, 2007: A 7.5-magnitude quake strikes the capital, Jakarta, shaking tall buildings and sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets.

_ March 6, 2007: A magnitude-6.3 earthquake strikes Sumatra island, leaving at least 52 people dead and some 250 injured. Two hours later, a 6.1 aftershock rattles the region.

_ Jan. 21, 2007: A magnitude-7.3 earthquake in a regional capital on Sulawesi island in northeastern Indonesia leaves four people dead and four injured.

_ July 17, 2006: A magnitude-6.1 earthquake triggers a tsunami off Java island's southern coast, killing at least 600 people.

_ May 27, 2006: A magnitude-6.2 quake flattens homes and hotels near the ancient central city of Yogyakarta, killing more than 3,000 and injuring thousands.

_ March 28, 2005: A magnitude-8.7 quake strikes Nias and Simeulue islands off the western coast of Sumatra, killing about 900 people and flattening thousands of houses and bridges.

_ Dec. 26, 2004: A magnitude-9 earthquake ruptures the sea floor off Sumatra island, triggering a tsunami that hits a dozen countries, including Indonesia, killing at least 131,029. Tens of thousands remain missing.

_ Nov. 26, 2004: A magnitude-6.4 earthquake rocks Indonesia's West Papua, near Nabire, killing about 30 people and causing dozens of buildings and homes to collapse.

_ Nov. 12, 2004: A magnitude-6 quake strikes off the eastern coast of Alor island, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) east of Jakarta. At least 27 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are damaged.

_ Feb. 6-7, 2004: A magnitude-6.9 earthquake on Feb. 6 and a magnitude-7.1 quake the following day kill 34 and devastate Nabire in remote Papua province.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[somethingfunny]

Regarding the 8.7 quake in 2005 and the 8.4 in 2007, I'm curious as to why those two megathrusts did not produce large tsunamis like the 9.0 in 2004 did. I understand that earthquake power is exponential, but those were still HUGE earthquakes occuring offshore Sumatra. Does anyone know where I could find some studies or research that could explain why?