Singapore feels tremors from massive Indonesian earthquake
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haha...u know how high a tsunami can be or not... how high a seawall u wanna build?Originally posted by PJ_Quek:1 hour too little time, 1 day perhaps. For certain tourist beaches, the authorities could build strong seawalls to reduce the power of the tsunamis, saved lives, imagine how many people are there just in Patong beach, but the authorities need money of course. Japan has been one countries that built seawalls to protect certain cities from being destroyed by tsunamis, Japan could provide assistance on how to reduce tsunami effects. -
LONDON - The underwater quake, which the US Geological Survey put at magnitude 9.0, was the biggest since 1964, when a 9.2-magnitude temblor struck Alaska, also touching off tsunami waves. There were at least a half-dozen powerful aftershocks, one of magnitude 7.3.
Mr Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute, likened the quake's power to detonating a million atomic bombs the size of those dropped on Japan during World War II, and said the shaking was so powerful it even disturbed the Earth's rotation.
'All the planet is vibrating' from the quake, he told Italian state radio. Other scientists said it was too early to say whether the rotation was affected by the quake.
The earthquake occurred at a spot where the Indian Ocean plate is gradually being forced underneath Sumatra, which is part of the Eurasian plate, at about the speed at which a human fingernail grows, Mr David Booth, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey explained.
'This slipping doesn't occur smoothly,' he said. Rocks along the edge stick against one another and pent-up energy builds over hundreds of years.
It's 'almost like stretching an elastic band, and then when the strength of the rock isn't sufficient to withstand the stress, then all along the fault line the rocks will move,' he said.
Indonesia is well-known as a major quake centre, sitting along a series of fault lines dubbed the Ring of Fire. But scientists are unable to predict where and when quakes will strike with any precision.
The force of Sunday's earthquake shook unusually far afield, causing buildings to sway hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre, from Singapore to the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, and in Bangladesh. -- AP -
thatz really a disaster...so many people dead...my condolence...
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quoted from where?Originally posted by sbst275:It is now measured at 9.1
Africa is hit by tsunami -
Quite shocking actually, since India, Maldives, Parkistan are a distance away from Indonesia yet they are affected. I sent my condolences to the victims.
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yah Somalia coastline i think. in yahoo news.Originally posted by NeonTetra:quoted from where? -
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it would be a sad new year for everyone...=(
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Why wasnt this earthquake detected? why the people not warned?
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hmmm...even the Pope feels sadden and implored the international to help out.
Seems like a bad omen for the coming year!!!! maybe a prelude of worst things to come.
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The International Red Cross has put out an urgent appeal for aid and our Singapore Red Cross has taken action on this....if you want to help the victims you can now do so....please see...
http://www.redcross.org.sg/press_bayofbengal_appeal.htm -
An international warning system, designed to warn coastal communities about potentially deadly waves, was started in 1965, the year after tsunamis associated with a magnitude 9.2 temblor struck Alaska in 1964. It is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Originally posted by X-men:Why wasnt this earthquake detected? why the people not warned?
The warning system is designed to alert nations that potentially destructive waves may hit their coastlines within three to 14 hours. Scientists said seismic networks recorded Sunday's massive earthquake, but without wave sensors in the region, there was no way to determine the direction a tsunami would travel.
Member states include all the major Pacific rim nations in North America, Asia and South America, was well as the Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand. It also includes France, which has sovereignty over some Pacific islands, and Russia.
However, India and Sri Lanka are not members because tsunamis are much less frequent in the Indian Ocean.
Deaths have also been reported in Somalia, some 3000 miles away from the epicentre.
News excerpts from Yahoo! News.