News reports of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia, off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, 260 miles off the coast of Aceh province. A tsunami warning has been issued. Located in the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” the area was hit with an earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2004. The 2004 tsunami waters killed 230,000 people, half of whom were in Aceh. The quake was centered 20.5 miles beneath the ocean floor in the Indian Ocean. I’ll have updates as available.
UPDATE 3:15 pm CDT: Reuters has reported that the tsunami waring has been cancelled.
UPDATE 1:45 pm: ABC News: Reporting that the people of Aceh have evacuated the area.
The quake hit at depth of 29 kilometres, 420km south-west of Banda Aceh, the US Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a statement saying a widespread tsunami threat does not exist, however coasts near the epicentre could be affected by a tsunami.
“A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data,” the statement said.
“However, there is a very small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than 100 kilometres from the earthquake epicentre.
| Magnitude |
7.3 |
| Date-Time |
|
| Location |
2.396°N, 93.175°E |
| Depth |
29.1 km (18.1 miles) |
| Region |
OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA |
| Distances |
423 km (262 miles) SW of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia
537 km (333 miles) SW of Lhokseumawe, Sumatra, Indonesia
951 km (590 miles) W of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia
1789 km (1111 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia |
| Location Uncertainty |
horizontal +/- 16.3 km (10.1 miles); depth +/- 8.1 km (5.0 miles) |
| Parameters |
NST= 75, Nph= 75, Dmin=504.3 km, Rmss=1.49 sec, Gp= 68°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6 |
| Source |
- Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D) |
| Event ID |
usc0007ir5 |
