Major Earthquakes Strike Indonesia

 

On September 12, an earthquake that measured 8.4 on the Richter scale struck about 80 miles off the coast of Indonesia, killing over a dozen people and knocking down hundreds of buildings. Tremors ranging from a magnitude of 4.9 to 7.8 continued to rattle the area in the following days.

Meteorologists issued a series of tsunami warnings on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The 8.4 earthquake was big enough to trigger a tsunami-sized wave, but it moved away from the Indonesian coast, into the Indian Ocean.

The area is within the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area prone to earthquakes because of shifting tectonic plates and underground volcanic activity. The quake that struck in December 2004 was a magnitude 9.1. It created the tsunami that killed over 200,000 people.

Related Links

  • Rescuers assess quake-hit Sumatra
    Covers the first major quake and the aftershocks, the rescue efforts, and the tsunami fears. Includes a good map of the area and an animated guide to earthquakes. (Source: BBC, September 13, 2007)
  • Indonesians huddle in tents in quake-hit Sumatra
    Report on the series of earthquakes, including the effects on the people of Sumatra, and the worry over the possibility of a tsunami. (Source: Reuters, September 14, 2007)
  • FACTBOX: Sumatra quake tops magnitude 8—what does this mean?
    Quick facts about earthquakes throughout 2007, what triggered the Indonesian quakes, and the casualties that can be expected from a magnitude 8 and above earthquake. (Source: Reuters, September 13, 2007)

2 Comments

  1. Lgl says:

    8.8 on the Richter scale? That’s ginormous.Of corsue, the region is notorious for volcanos and earthquakes. The problems would be fearful to imagine if a quake hit a big place like Santiago. Lima,i neighbouring Peru, has a history of devastating earthquakes, for example.

    • person says:

      two suggustions

      1. get your facts straight it was a 8.4 earthquake

      2. get your spelling right; ginormus is not a word, you spelled course wrong and you spelled neighboring wrong!