Chaos as quake rocks Indonesian Island

Sri Lanka could face a tsunami risk: Met.Dept.

(September 30, Sumatra/ Colombo , Sri Lanka Guardian) A powerful earthquake has rocked Indonesia's Sumatra island, damaging houses, bringing down bridges and starting fires, reports have said.

The magnitude 7.6 tremor struck off the coastal city of Padang.

The quake was felt around the region, with some high-rise buildings in the neighbouring city state of Singapore, 275 miles away, evacuating their staff.

A regional tsunami warning was issued, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre and Japan's meteorological agency said. It was unclear if there were any casualties.
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Colombo: The Met.Dept requested public to be cautious of a possible tsunami following two major quakes in the South Pacific island of Samoa and Sumatra islands in the Indian Ocean.

“The 7.9 magnitude earthquake in the seas near Sumatra Islands at 3.46pm this evening created a possible risk”, said the department’s Deputy Director S.R.Jayasekare.

He said that aftershocks following the major 8.3 magnitude earthquake that took place in the South Pacific island of Samoa might be experienced.
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The magnitude 7.6 tremor struck off the coastal city of Padang.

The quake was felt around the region, with some high-rise buildings in the neighbouring city state of Singapore, 275 miles away, evacuating their staff.

A regional tsunami warning was issued, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre and Japan's meteorological agency said. It was unclear if there were any casualties.

Some victims were washed out to sea as 20ft waves destroyed villages and injured hundreds, officials said.

Padang, the capital of Indonesia's West Sumatra province, sits on one of the world's most active fault lines along the Ring of Fire, where the Indo-Australia plate grinds against the Eurasia plate.

A 9.15 magnitude quake, with its epicentre roughly 373 miles northwest of Padang, caused the 2004 tsunami.

It left 232,000 people dead in Indonesia's Aceh province, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and other countries across the Indian Ocean.

Geologists have long said Padang, with a population of 900,000, may one day be destroyed by a huge earthquake because of its location.

"Padang sits right in front of the area with the greatest potential for an 8.9 magnitude earthquake," said Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, a geologist at the Indonesian Science Institute.

"The entire city could drown" in a tsunami triggered by such a quake, he warned.

-Sri Lanka Guardian