Wednesday 11 April 2012

8.7 quake strikes off Indonesia, tsunami watch issued for 28 countries including India I FELT 2.30 PM EARTH QUAKE KAKINADA ANDHRA PRADESH

India issued a tsunami warning for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the eastern coast on Wednesday after a 8.7 magnitude quake in Indonesia shook major cities, causing panic and sending people fleeing onto the streets. Hundreds of office workers in the Bangalore left their.buildings while the
Indian port of Chennai closed down because of the danger of a tsunami, the port said. Indonesia's disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger.
"The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service issued a red high-level warning for the islands, and also put out lower alerts for the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu 
4:12 pm: USGS: Tsunami less likely

4:10 pm: NDMA: No likelihood of tsunami in Indian Ocean

4:07 pm:
Thailand's Phuket international airport closed

The international airport on the southern Thai tourist island of Phuket was closed on Wednesday after a tsunami warning was issued following an 8.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, its director said.

"We have temporarily closed the airport following the tsunami alert," Phuket International Airport Director Prateung Sornkham told Reuters by telephone. 
4: 05 pm: Tsunami warning has been scaled down
4: 01 pm: The Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) will soon shut down the two units each of  220 MW at the Kalpakaam Nuclear Project, the Business Standard reported.

This is being done as a precautionary measure in the wake of a tsunami warning issued by Indonesia after a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.6 hit Aceh province.

The Kalpakkam plant is situated in seismic zone II.

The department of atomic energy had said in its release in December 2004 that 61 people had died in townships and villages surrounding the plant, of which 31 worked at the plant.
4:00 pm: Indonesia port open after quake, Chennai closes

Reuters reports that Indonesia's port in Banda Aceh remained open after an 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck on Wednesday, while Chennai port shut due to a tsunami watch issued for the whole Indian Ocean, two port authority officials said.
3: 57 pm: Yahoo reader Senthil phones in to say police officials are moving along Chennai's Marina Beach-front, using loud hailers to exhort the public to evacuate in anticipation of high waves that are expected to hit the coast around 4.57 PM. The Tamil Nadu government however has said it has no official warning of a possible tsunami hitting that part of the coast.
3:56 pm: Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex slipped again after the earthquake hit Aceh, Indonesia and a tsunami warning was issued.
The BSE Sensex slipped by 100 points to 17,144 and the NSE Nifty lost 33 points to 5,210.
Oei! RT @MalaysiaAsia: Thailand urges coastal evacuation after major 8.5 quake in #Indonesia - http://ow.ly/acIHX #earthquake#tsunami
3:55 pm: Ships anchored off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been instructed to move to high seas as a tsunami alert has been sounded off for 28 countries.
The national disaster centre in Thailand too has issued a tsunami warning and asked people of six Thai provinces to move to higher ground.
3: 54 pm: Bruce Pressgrave of the US Geological Survey told BBC that it was unlikely that a tsunami would be generated since this type of earthquake does not generate a column of water that could cause a tsunami.
“There’s always a hazard but with this kind of quake it reduces the risk of a tsunami,” he said.
While it was hoped that there would be no tsunami it was prudent to issue a tsunami warning given the magnitude of the earthquake, he said.
3: 53 pm: The tsunami centre in Hyderabad has issued a notice for evacuation of beaches. Meanwhile, Kolkata authorities have stopped the Metro services.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has said a tsunami watch is on for India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, Maldives, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychells, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Madagascar, Iran, the United Arab Emiraets, Yemen, Bangladesh, South Africa and Kenya.

3:52 pm:
Hundreds of office workers in the Indian city of Bangalore left their buildings while the Indian port of Chennai closed down because of the danger of a tsunami, the port said--Reuters
3:50 pm: "Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin," the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said--Indian Express
3:46 pm: People in Banda Aceh screamed ''God is great!'' as they jumped into cars and the backs of motorcycles, clogging streets as they fled to high ground--Indian Express
3: 45 pm: Yahoo reader Pradeep Kumar Reddy writes in of tremors felt in Hyderabad; Anuradha has a similar report from Vishakapattinam; similar reports coming in from Bhubaneswar in Orissa; Tapsi reports in from Pune and Asik from Coimbatore; and several readers write in with stories of mass evacuations from office buildings in Kolkata, which appears to have felt the tremors particularly severely. As reports come in from various parts of the country, all on similar lines, it reinforces the image of the magnitude of the quake off Aceh, for its shock waves to have traveled this far and to be felt with this intensity.
3: 42 pm: Metro trains shut down as precautionary measures in Bangalore
3: 40 pm: Tsunami likely to hit Chennai at 16:57 IST. Tsunami warning says wave of 0.2 M height expected. However, Tamil Nadu says it's yet to receive any Tsunami warning.
3:37 pm: An agency report just in says a quake measuring 3.4 Richter was recorded off the coast of Mumbai, at 18.6 degree latitude and 71.3 degree longitude in the Arabian Sea, which puts it a little over 150 km off the coast of Mumbai. There are informal reports of tremors being felt in various parts of the metropolis, but the Met Office has not verified these reports thus far.  
3:36 pm: Aceh (Aceh Darussalam, to give it its full name) was the closest land point to the epicenter of the quake of December 26, 2004 that triggered what has since come to be known as the Boxing Day Tsunami. It manifested as a series of massive waves, some over 30 meters (98 feet) high, that devastated land masses bordering the Indian Ocean. Worst hit was Indonesia, followed by Sri Lanka, India and Thailand; the toll recorded in the quake and tsunami totaled over 230,000, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.

3:35 pm: Another quake off Mumbai coast

Reports say that yet another earthquake, measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale, was recorded in the Arabia Sea, about 155 km away from Mumbai. Met department director Rajeev Nair said that the “shock registered at 18.6 degree latitude and 71.3 degree longitude in the Arabian Sea. The epicentre of the quake was 155 km from Mumbai.”
3:32 pm: India's tsunami warning center said waves measuring up to 6 meters were expected along parts of its eastern coast--Reuters
3:31 pm: Typically, it never stops with one quake — when the big ones hit, the first major quake is invariably followed up, over the next few hours and days, by a series of smaller, but intense, aftershocks. For instance, the 48 hours following the March 2011 quake off Japan recorded 275 aftershocks of varying magnitudes. Advisory: stay alert, stay safe. Here's a quick tip-sheet on what to do if the earth shakes again
3:30 pm: Indonesia agency reports 6.5 quake on Richter scale aftershock in Aceh--Reuters
3:25 pm: Aceh, just went to the polls this Monday.
The elections in Aceh are the second since the province suffered 170,000 fatalities in the Asian tsunami of 2004, and since the war against Indonesian rule ended in 2005, having claimed 15,000 lives.
3:23 pm: I felt tremors in cochin for two minutes says Saleem n.m., a Yahoo! user

 
:20 pm: The Thai office of disaster management said people along the west coast of Andaman province should heed warnings and evacuate--BBC
3:15 pm: 8.7, 9.1 — we hear these numbers thrown about when quakes hit, and all it really tells us is that it is huge. What does it really mean, though, in terms of energy released, and therefore the potential impact and magnitude of devastation? The US Geological Survey site has a primer, complete with calculations.
3:13 pm: 8th largest earthquake in 100 years - Times Now
3:12 pm: So far, no reports of damage reported in Indonesia.
3:10 pm: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore.
Deadly earthquakes that registered a magnitude of at least 8.5
2:57 pm: I felt it In Guwahati and it lasted for almost 2 minutes...Says Manoj, a Yahoo! user from  Guwahati
2:55 pm:The quake triggered a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean region,
10 Biggest Recorded Earthquakes
They've caused death and destruction across the globe, these are the 10 biggest recorded earthquakes.
 
2:49 pm: The wall of APG's office in Kolkata's business area cracked due to the tremors.
2:42 pm: Tsunami warning issued in 28 nations.
2:41 pm: People on Twitter said tremors were felt in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India. High-rise apartments and offices on Malaysia's west coast shook for at least a minute. 2:40 pm: Tremors felt in Bangalore, Ooty and Bhubaneshwar as well.
DID YOU FEEL IT? COMMENT BELOW
2:36 pm: The U.S. Geological Survey said the powerful quake was centered 20 miles (33 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor around 308 miles (495 kilometers) from Aceh's provincial capital.

2:35 pm: According to USGS, at 1:39 AM Pacific Daylight Time on April 11, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 8.7 occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatera, Indonesia .
2:30 pm: Mild tremors felt in Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati after earthquake in Indonesia
2:20 pm: Tsunami warning issued 
2:15 pm: 8.9 magnitude quake rocks Indonesia.

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