Quake Triggers Tsunami in Indonesia / Gempa Bumi Kuat Melanda Selatan Sumatera

12 September, 2007 20:28 PM

Gempa Bumi Kuat Melanda Selatan Sumatera, says Bernama.

KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Sept (Bernama) -- Gempa bumi kuat berukuran 7.9 pada skala Richter melanda selatan Sumatera, 155km barat daya Bengkulu, Indonesia dan 718km barat daya Johor Baharu pada 7.10 malam ini.

Kenyataan Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia di sini menyatakan gempa bumi itu berlaku di 4.5 darjah Selatan dan 101.0 darjah Timur.

Menurut kenyataan itu, penduduk di kawasan pantai terutama di Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang dan Perak dinasihati supaya menjauhi kawasan pantai.

Gegaran turut dirasai di kawasan Barat Semenanjung Malaysia.

Sementara itu, JAKARTA digegar gempa bumi berukuran 7.9 pada skala Richter beberapa minit lepas.

Maklumat awal yang disiarkan televisyen tempatan menyatakan gempa bumi yang berpusat di sekitar kepulauan Bengkulu itu berpotensi tsunami.

Ketika laporan ini dibuat wartawan Bernama yang berada di tingkat 19 Wisma Antara di bandar raya itu masih terasa bangunan setinggi 20 tingkat itu bergoyang kuat.

Komputer di atas meja, televisyen dan perabot bergoyang akibat gempa itu.

Ribuan pekerja pelbagai syarikat di Wisma Antara bertempiaran keluar meninggalkan pejabat masing-masing untuk menyelamatkan diri dengan turun ke bawah dengan menggunakan tangga kecemasan.

Di JOHOR BAHARU, gegaran turut dirasai sehingga menyebabkan orang ramai terutamanya di bangunan tinggi keluar ke perkarangan bangunan masing-masing untuk menyelamatkan diri.

Jurucakap Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Johor, Saiful Bahari berkata jabatan itu menerima banyak laporan daripada orang ramai khususnya yang tinggal di bangunan tinggi seperti kondominium Bukit Saujana, Taman Desa Cemerlang, flet Bukit Cagar dan juga di Gelang Patah.

Saiful berkata jabatan itu telah menghantar anggota untuk membuat pemeriksaan di bangunan-bangunan tinggi yang terlibat.

Di KUALA LUMPUR, Jurucakap Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Jalan Hang Tuah di sini ketika dihubungi berkata jabatan itu menerima banyak panggilan daripada orang ramai melaporkan bangunan dan rumah pangsa mereka mengalami gegaran.

Katanya keadaan itu menyebabkan penghuni dan pekerja di bangunan tinggi terbabit bergegas keluar untuk menyelamatkan diri.

"Antara kawasan yang mengalami gegaran ialah Pandan Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Jalan Klang Lama, Kepong, Cheras dan kompleks kerajaan di Jalan Duta. Anggota bomba telah dihantar ke kawasan berkenaan untuk memantau keadaan keselamatan di sana," katanya.

Bagaimanapun pihak bomba meminta orang ramai supaya tidak panik dan bertenang memandangkan gegaran itu cuma tempias daripada gempa bumi di Sumatera.

Sementara itu, seorang eksekutif Surya Suharman, 31, yang bekerja di Faber Towers di Jalan Klang Lama di sini berkata gegaran sebanyak tiga kali dialami bermula kira-kira 7.15 malam.

-- LAGI

September 12, 2007 21:24 PM

7.9 Magnitude Quake Jolts Southern Sumatra

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale jolted southern Sumatra Wednesday.

The quake occurred 155km southwest of Bengkulu, Indonesia and 718km southwest of Johor Baharu in southern Peninsular Malaysia at 7.10pm (Malaysian time), the Malaysian Meteorological Department said in a statement.

Tremors were also felt in several areas along the west coast of the peninsula.

Although there have been no reports of tsunamis thus far, the department has advised residents of coastal areas of Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Penang to stay away from the beach.

According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, an earthquake of this magnitude had the potential to generate a widespread tsunami that could affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean.

In JAKARTA, occupants of tall buildings, including the 20-storey Wisma Antara, rushed out into the streets following the quake.

Bernama correspondent in the Indonesian capital, Mohd Nasir Yusof, said he was on the 19th floor of Wisma Antara when the tremor shook the building.

"Fearing for the worst, everybody just ran out of the building," he said.

Similar scenes were repeated in JOHOR BAHARU as people flocked to open spaces when they realised what was happening.

State Fire and Rescue Department spokesman, Saiful Bahari, said it received many calls from people staying in high-rise buildings such as those in Bukit Saujana, Taman Desa Cemerlang, Bukit Cagar and Gelang Patah.

He said the department would conduct checks on the buildings concerned.

In KUALA LUMPUR, a Jalan Hang Tuah fire station spokesman, when contacted, said that people had been calling to report that the buildings they were in had been rattled by the quake.

The tremors were felt in areas like Pandan Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Jalan Klang Lama, Kepong, Cheras and the government office complex in Jalan Duta, he said, adding that firemen had been despatched to such locations to monitor the situation.

He urged members of the public to remain calm.

Meanwhile, Surya Suharman, 31, whose office is located at Faber Towers in Old Klang Road here, said the tremors could be felt thrice starting 7.15pm. Bernama

The Associated Press via the Washington Post
Wednesday, September 12, 2007; 9:25 AM

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A massive earthquake struck Indonesia on Wednesday, triggering a tsunami in the town of Padang and warnings for much of the Indian Ocean region, authorities said. The quake caused tall buildings to sway in a least four countries.

A wave of up to nine feet was reported to have hit Padang about 20 minutes after the quake, said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia's meteorological agency, who goes by only one name.

Indonesian office workers evacuate their building following a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Jakarta, Indonesia Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007. The powerful earthquake off western Indonesia triggered warnings of a potentially destructive tsunami across much of the Indian Ocean region Wednesday, meteorological agencies said. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Indonesian office workers evacuate their building following a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Jakarta, Indonesia Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007. The powerful earthquake off western Indonesia triggered warnings of a potentially destructive tsunami across much of the Indian Ocean region Wednesday, meteorological agencies said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also reported that a small tsunami hit Padang.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) _ A powerful earthquake hit Indonesia on Wednesday, causing buildings to sway in at least four countries, and authorities issued a tsunami warning for much of the Indian Ocean region.

The undersea quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 and hit at about 6:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EDT), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered 65 miles southwest of Bengkulu, on Sumatra island, at a depth of 9.7 miles, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for wide areas of the region.

"Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean Basin," it said, warning that waves could hit Indonesia and Australia within an hour, and Sri Lanka and India within three hours.

Residents in Bengkulu _ where at least one building was demolished _ said the quake triggered panic and that people ran inland.

"Everyone is running out of their houses in every direction," according to Wati Said, who spoke by cell phone standing outside her house. "We think our neighborhood is high enough. God willing, if the water comes, it will not touch us here."

"Communication is cut, we can't call out," she added. "I don't know how you contacted us. Everyone is afraid."

The temblor could also be felt in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 375 miles away, where office workers streamed down the stairwells of tall, swaying buildings.

Some people in high-rises in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand also felt the quake.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.