Two massive earthquakes triggered back-to-back tsunami warnings for
Indonesia on Wednesday, sending panicked residents fleeing to high
ground in cars and on the backs of motorcycles. There were no signs of
deadly waves, however, or serious damage, and a watch for much of the
Indian Ocean was lifted after a few hours.Women and children were crying in Aceh province, where memories are
still raw of a 2004 tsunami that killed 170,000 people in the province
alone. Others screamed "God is great" as they poured from their homes
or searched frantically for separated family members.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first 8.6-magnitude quake was
270 miles (435 kilometers) from Aceh's provincial capital. The tsunami
watch that followed from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii
advised countries all along the rim of the Indian Ocean, from Australia
and India to as far off as Africa, that a tsunami could be generated.
The only wave, however, was less than 30 inches (80 centimeters) high, rolling to Indonesia's coast.
But just as the region was sighing relief, an 8.2-magnitude aftershock hit.
"We just issued another tsunami warning," Prih Harjadi, from Indonesia's geophysics agency, told TVOne in a live interview.
His countrymen were told to stay clear of western coasts.
Again, the threat quickly passed.
Experts said both quakes were geologically different than the one
that spawned the 2004 tsunami, occurring horizontally, with the
tectonic plates sliding against each other, creating more of a
vibration in the water.
The other type of earthquake, a mega thrust, like the one that also
hit off Japan last year, causes the seabed to heave and displaces water
vertically, sending towering waves racing toward shores.
Roger Musson, seismologist at the British geological survey who has
studied Sumatra's fault lines, said initially he'd been "fearing the
worst."
"But as soon as I discovered what type of earthquake it was ... I felt a lot better."
The tremors were felt in neighboring Malaysia, where high-rise
buildings shook. Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh and India also were
rattled.
But it was the streets of Aceh where real chaos broke out.
Patients poured out of hospitals, some with drips still attached to their arms. In some places, electricity was briefly cut.
Hours after the temblor, people were still standing outside their homes and offices, afraid to go back inside.
"I was in the shower on the fifth floor of my hotel," Timbang
Pangaribuan told El Shinta radio from the city of Medan. "We all ran
out. ... We're all standing outside now."
He said one guest was injured when he jumped from a window.
Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center issued an evacuation
order in six provinces along the country's west coast, including the
tourist destinations of Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga.
India's Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for parts of the
eastern Andaman and Nicobar islands. In Tamil Nadu in southern India,
police cordoned off the beach and used loudspeakers to warn people to
leave the area.
The quake was felt in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where many people in the
city's commercial Motijheel district left their offices and homes in
panic and ran into the streets. In Male, the capital of the Maldives,
buildings were evacuated.
Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.
The giant 9.1-magnitude quake and tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, killed 230,000 people in about a dozen nations.