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2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes

Coordinates: 2°18′40″N 93°03′47″E / 2.311°N 93.063°E / 2.311; 93.063
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2012 Indian Ocean earthquake
2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes is located in 100x100
2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes
2004 earthquake
2004 earthquake
2012 earthquake
2012 earthquake
2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes (100x100)
UTC time??
Duration3[1]-5 minutes[2]
Magnitude8.6 Mw[3]
Depth22.9 km (14 mi)[3]
Epicenter2°18′40″N 93°03′47″E / 2.311°N 93.063°E / 2.311; 93.063[3]
TypeUndersea (strike-slip) [4]
Areas affected Bangladesh
 India
 Indonesia
 Malaysia
 Singapore
 Sri Lanka
 Thailand[2]
TsunamiMinor
ForeshocksNo
Aftershocks17
CasualtiesUnknown

The 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake was an 8.6-magnitude undersea earthquake that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on Wednesday, 11 April 2012 at 15:38 local time. Tsunami warnings that were issued across the Indian Ocean have since been downgraded or canceled.[2][5][6][7]

Background

The region previously faced the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami where the quake took place about 250 km south-south-east from Banda Aceh.[8]

Earthquake

The magnitude 8.6 (Mw) at a depth of 33 kilometres[1] earthquake occurred inland at 08:38 UTC on 11 April, at about 434 km (269 mi) southwest of Banda Aceh, Indonesia at a shallow depth of 22.9 km (14.2 mi).[3] It was originally reported as 8.9. Phillip Charlesworth, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies based in Jakarta said that the earthquake lasted for 3 minutes. The earthquake was also felt in Padang.[1]

After the earthquake, which took place about 500 kilometers south-west from Banda Aceh, people in Indonesia and India left their homes and offices in fear.[7] Amid crowded streets in Aceh people headed for higher ground.[9][1]

Besides Indonesia, the earthquake could be felt over a large area. Shaking was felt over the eastern coast of India, including in Chennai, Bangalore,Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. The Metro Rail services were suspended in Kolkata, and passengers were asked to leave stations.[10] In Malaysia, shaking was felt in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.[11] The tremor was felt in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where people in some high rise buildings were evacuated.[12]

Aftershocks

An aftershock with a magnitude of 8.2 struck at the depth of 10 kilimetres[1] off Sumatra at 10:43 UTC, two hours after the initial 8.6-magnitude earthquake.[13] Twenty-one aftershocks with magnitudes from 5.0 to 6.0 were also recorded several hours after the initial earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra.[14] [15]

Tsunami

Small waves of roughly 0.5 metres, within regular tide limits were reported on the Campbell Bay area of Great Nicobar Island,[1] as well as 10 centimetre waves in Thailand.[16][17] Two "minor tsunami[s]" of 31cm and 35cm has been reported at Sabang and Padang, on the coast of Indonesia.[18]

Tsunami warnings

Three hours after the initial quake it was still unclear whether a tsunami had been generated or if one had done any significant damage. A geophysicist from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) stated that a gauge closest to the epicenter of the quake off the northern coast of Sumatra recorded a peak of about a metre.[19] A bulletin issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at 10:14 UTC stated that a tsunami was generated and may have been destructive along some coasts already.[20] The BBC quoted Roger Musson, a seismologist from United Kingdom's British Geological Survey[21] said: "It's a sort of tearing earthquake, and this is much less likely to cause a tsunami because it's not displacing large volumes of water."[2] Indonesian authorities also issued a statement saying that the probability of occurrence of a tsunami was low.[22]

Initially when tsunami warnings were issued the following countries were affected: Indonesia, Australia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mozambique, Mauritius, Comoros, Madagascar, South Africa and the dependencies of Diego Garcia as part of the British Indian Ocean Territories, Crozet Islands, Reunion and Kerguelen Islands. The timings of a possible tsunami in GMT were: 8:38 for Indonesia, 11:38 for Sri Lanka, 14:38 for the Seychelles, 17:38 for Madagascar and 20:38 for South Africa.[1]

India

The earthquake's reach caused people in office buildings to move into open spaces on the streets of Salt Lake, Kolkata, India.

After the earthquake, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) issued red high-level tsunami warning for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.[23] In response to the earthquake, local authorities in cities and regions along the coast of India instructed civilians to move to higher grounds and to leave beaches and other shoreline areas.[24] The warnings that were initially issued for Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands have since been withdrawn.[25] Prabkhakar Rao of the disaster control room in Port Blair said that there could be tsunamis as high as 1.5 metres at Port Blair and 3.9 metres at Campbell Bay.[1]

Sri Lanka

Evacuation order issued by Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights in Sri Lanka

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights (DMC) authorised an evacuation order[26] issued by the Department of Meteorology in Sri Lanka for on all those living near the coastal regions to move to higher ground at 11:00 UTC. It said that Sri Lanka will not be affected by the preliminary earthquake, however, it would continue to monitor the situation to assess any potential effects of possible aftershocks.[27] Deputy Director M. D. Dayananda said that a tsunami could hit Trincomalee.[1]

As part of a Risk mitigation measures, the Ceylon Electricity Board disconnected power supplies to coastal areas and railway control rooms. Train services on the coastal lines were also suspended till further notice.[28] The Road Development Authority has deemed use of the Southern Sri Lanka Distributor free of charge in order to minimise delays and ensure timely evacuation of residents.[29] All bus services using coastal routes had also been re-routed until further notice. [30]

Thailand

Six provinces of Thailand[which?] issued orders for people to go to high ground and stay away from areas that could conceivably be hit. Phuket International Airport was also closed.[1] The alerts caused panic as people fled buildings and made for high ground.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Indian Ocean on tsunami alert after quakes". Al Jazeera. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Indian Ocean tsunami alert lifted after Aceh quake". BBC News. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d "Magnitude 8.6 – OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA". United States Geological Survey. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Huge quakes strike off Indonesia; tsunami warning issued". Reuters. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Indian Ocean tsunami alert cancelled after two strong quakes hit off Sumatra, Indonesia". Herald Sun. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  6. ^ "Huge quake strikes off Indonesia, tsunami warning issued". Reuters. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  7. ^ a b Reuters (11 April 2012). "Massive earthquake strikes Indonesia, tremors felt in India". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 April 2012. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Banda Aceh". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Massive earthquake off Indonesia". TVNZ. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  10. ^ PTI (11 April 2012). "News : Tremors across eastern coast; people evacuated from Andamans". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  11. ^ "8.7 earthquake hits Aceh, tsunami alert issued (Update) | theSundaily". Thesundaily.my. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Large Aceh quake triggers Indian Ocean tsunami warning – Tremor felt in Colombo | Independent Television Network News". Itnnews.lk. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  13. ^ "8.2-magnitude aftershock hits off Sumatra". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  14. ^ "M8.2 – off the west coast of northern Sumatra". United States Geological Survey. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  15. ^ "Latest Earthquakes M5.0+ in the World – Past 7 days". Earthquake.usgs.gov. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  16. ^ "Small tsunami reaches Thailand after huge quake". The Daily Star. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  17. ^ "Strong Indonesian quakes cause panic across Asia, not tsunami". Emirates 24/7. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  18. ^ April 12, 2012 1:32AM (26 December 2004). "Tsunami warning after earthquake hits off Indonesia". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 11 April 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Indonesia earthquake: No damage to ocean basin, India withdraws tsunami warning". The Indian Express. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  20. ^ "Pacific Tsunami Warning Center/NOAA/NWS: Tsunami bulletin number 003". PTWC. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  21. ^ http://www.bgs.ac.uk/staff/profiles/1331.html
  22. ^ "Watch: Indonesia Reacts to 8.7 Magnitude Earthquake". TIMES. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  23. ^ AFP (11 April 2012). "Indonesia earthquake: India issues tsunami warning for Andaman and Nicobars". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  24. ^ "Earthquake in Indonesia: How India responded". NDTV. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  25. ^ "Earthquake in Indonesia: India withdraws tsunami warning". NDTV. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  26. ^ "Tsunami warning in South and East | Top Story". Daily Mirror. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  27. ^ "Tsunami Warning Evacuation Bulletin". 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  28. ^ "Trains stopped, power to be disconnected | Breaking News". Daily Mirror. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  29. ^ "Expressway free of charge | Breaking News". Daily Mirror. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  30. ^ "Private buses stop in coastal areas | Breaking News". Daily Mirror. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.

External links

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