Padang, Indonesia – The second powerful earthquake in as many days shook western Indonesia today, collapsing buildings in a coastal city and triggering tsunami alerts around the region.
The latest quake was also felt in Malaysia and in Singapore, where tall buildings swayed. It triggered at least one strong aftershock.
On Wednesday, a strong earthquake shook Southeast Asia, collapsing buildings, killing at least five people and injuring dozens in Indonesia. That tremor triggered a small, nondestructive tsunami off the coastal city of Padang on Sumatra, the Indonesian island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami disaster. A tsunami warning was issued for wide areas of the region and as far away as Africa.
Today’s magnitude-7.8 quake rattled the same area of Sumatra.
Rafael Abreu, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, said the earthquake today did not appear to be an aftershock to the 8.4- magnitude temblor the day before. But the centers were close together.
“We are not calling it an aftershock at this point. It’s fairly large itself. It seems to be a different earthquake,” Abreu said.
Indonesia issued a tsunami warning, lifted it and then reissued it. A tsunami watch was also in effect for Australia.
The USGS said the new quake was centered about 125 miles from Bengkulu, a city on Sumatra. It occurred at a shallow depth of about 6 miles and struck at 6:49 a.m. local time.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii warned today’s quake had the potential to generate a destructive regional tsunami along coasts within 600 miles of the epicenter. It advised authorities to take immediate action to evacuate coastal areas.
Today’s quake caused extensive damage in Padang, a local official said.
“Many buildings collapsed after this morning’s quake,” Fauzi Bahar, the mayor, told El Shinta radio. “We’re still trying to find out about victims.”
Thousands of frightened people piled in trucks or sought shelter on high ground.
After Wednesday’s quake, frightened people fled their homes and ran inland, fearing a repeat of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. That disaster killing an estimated 230,000 people in a dozen nations.
Phone lines and electricity were disrupted across a large swath of Indonesia, making it difficult to get information about damage and casualties.
Suhardjono, a senior official with the local meteorological agency who like most Indonesians uses only one name, said a small tsunami, perhaps 3 feet high, struck Padang about 20 minutes after the quake.
But most of the damage appeared to come from the ground shaking.
Two people died when a car dealership collapsed in Padang and another was killed by a fire in a damaged department store, a witness said by phone. The Health Ministry said two people died in Bengkulu. The Social Affairs Department said seven had been killed in and around the town. The differing tallies could not be reconciled immediately.
At least 194 people were injured in Bengkulu, a doctor there reported.
