Two Giant Earthquakes Rock Indonesia's Sumatra Island

JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 13, 2007 (ENS) - A massive magnitude 8.4 earthquake hit southern Sumatra's Bengkulu province Wednesday at 6:10 pm local time. It was followed by 51 tremors, including one in western Sumatra's Jambi province Thursday morning that was measured at a magnitude of 7.8. The severe quakes rattled buildings in three countries and triggered tsunami warnings across the Indian and Pacific oceans.

The first and strongest quake killed at least 10 people and injured some 50 others. It set off a small nondestructive tsunami wave in the coastal city of Padang.

Indonesia issued its sixth tsunami warning Thursday evening after a 6.8 magnitude quake rattled Bengkulu province yet again.

The Indonesian government declared a state of emergency for both Bengkulu and Padang at a cabinet meeting chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at an air force base in Jakarta Thursday evening.

Surrounded by members of his Cabinet, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declares a state of emergency. (Photo courtesy Office of the President)

At Padang, about 400 patients were treated in makeshift tents outside hospital buildings, which cracked during the quakes, hospital director Dr. Suchyar Iskandar told the official Antara news agency. Patients from some hospitals were evacuated to safer locations.

Communities around the Indian Ocean were evacuated last night, as the first and strongest earthquake triggered a series of tsunami warnings.

Matthew Cochrane of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent said the organization's volunteers helped evacuate an estimated half a million people to Red Crescent shelters and other safe areas.

"The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society has a network of more than 40,000 volunteers trained for such an event," said Thomas Gurtner, the acting director of the International Federation’s coordination and programs division. "Straight away, they were out in the communities using flags and microphones and sirens to evacuate people."

Volunteers with the Indonesian Red Cross, PMI, were among the first to respond to the quakes, helping to evacuate people from the affected region. In Padang and Bengkulu, PMI quickly set up a series of emergency health clinics to support local hospitals.

Emergency relief items have been sent to the region, including 1,000 standard earthquake medical packages, 2,000 tarpaulins and 1,500 hygiene kits.

PMI workers say a school in Bengkulu City was severely damaged, and in Padang, the quake has damaged factories and at least one automobile showroom.

The deputy head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent’s Indonesia delegation Amara Bains says assessing the true extent of the damage may take some time.

Earthquake evacuees from TM Tower, Jambi Province, wait until an all clear is sounded. September 13, 2007. (Photo by K. Nizam)

The aid coalition Action by Churches Together International quotes a report from the Protestant Christian Church, GKPM, on Mentawai island that almost all the houses as well as schools, churches and mosques in the coastal areas have been destroyed or sustained damages.

Sikakap harbor has been destroyed and some roads and bridges can no longer be used. Half of all government building were destroyed in Tuapejat and houses heavily damaged. In this area people fled about four kilometers inland from the coast. They have received some support in the form of tents and limited food supplies from the government.

The situation is similar in Siberut with some school buildings and houses destroyed. Almost all the residents in this area have fled to nearby mountainous areas. Tents, lighting, food and medicine are urgently needed, according to the church coalition.

GKPM has notified local authorities of the most urgent needs of the survivors, but says there is no means of transportation right now and boats are currently not permitted to sail out to Mentawai island due to bad weather conditions.

The Bengkulu earthquake and its aftershocks over the past two days may trigger a bigger temblor, two scientists at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, LIPI, warned today.

"I hope it does not happen," Dr. Hery Harjono, LIPI deputy chief for earth science, told Antara today. "But conditions to the north of the Mentawai segment are ripe, under pressure and locked, albeit still dormant. The recent quake which occurred in the southern segment could well trigger a temblor in the northern segment."

Wednesday's first and strongest quake, measured at 8.4 on the Richter scale, was nearly as severe as the 8.7 quake that rocked the northern part of Sumatra island on March 28, 2005.

Each higher number on the Richter scales indicates an earthquake that is stronger by a factor of 10. So an 8.7 magnitude quake is ten times stronger than one measured at 7.7 magnitude.

The strongest quake recorded since 1900 was a 9.5 magnitude temblor that shook Chile in 1960.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.