About 20 Killed After 7.2-Magnitude Quake Spawns Tsunami

[kenl01]

not so sure where to put this, but I thought I'd paste it...........



About 20 Killed After 7.2-Magnitude Quake Spawns Tsunami in Indonesia

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,203914,00.html

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake sent a two-meter high tsunami crashing into beach resorts along Indonesia's Java island Monday, killing around 20 people and causing extensive damage to hotels, restaurants and homes, witnesses and officials said.

Thousands of people fled to higher ground along a 110-mile stretch of the densely populated island's southern coast, some shouting "tsunami, tsunami!" and climbing trees or crowding into mosques to pray.

Indonesia was the worst hit country by the 2004 tsunami and has installed a warning system across much of Sumatra island, but not on Java, which just seven weeks ago was hit by a powerful quake that killed thousands.

CountryWatch: Indonesia

"All the houses are destroyed along the beach," she said. "Small hotels are completely destroyed and at least one restaurant was washed away."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters that at least five people were killed.

The tsunami followed a quake that struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean 150 miles southwest of Java's western coast at 3:24 p.m. local time, causing tall buildings to sway as far off as the capital Jakarta.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.2, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was followed by a 6.1-magnitude aftershock two hours later.

Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said he had heard reports about a tsunami striking two seaside towns, and urged people living on Java's southern coast to move inland in an orderly fashion.

"Everyone should move from the beach," he told el-Shinta.

The earthquake had triggered a tsunami warning on Indonesia's Java and Sumatra islands and Australia's Christmas and Cocos islands.

"There is a possibility of a destructive local tsunami in the Indian Ocean," Japan's Meteorological Agency said in a statement.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a similar bulletin.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed at least 216,000 people, nearly half of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.

On May 27, a magnitude-5.9 earthquake devastated a large swath of Java Island, killing more than 5,800 people.

[HurricaneHunter914]

Whoa, 2006 has so many similarities to 2004.

[Jim Cantore]

Lucky it was a small wave.

[Regit]

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=86940

[shaggy]

death toll up to 86 now but still not alot of news out of that area yet

[GulfBreezer]

Let's move this conversation to Off Topic thread above and I will lock this one until all veiwers get redirected.