Monday, October 25, 2010

Six Mild Quakes' hit West Sumatra

Six earthquakes measuring from 5.0 to 6.2 on the Richter scale hit several parts in West Sumatra on Tuesday morning. However, no tsunami alarm was raised over the tremors, said the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. The first quake, which occurred at 2:37 a.m., was located 30 kilometers southwest of Pagai Selatan in Mentawai Islands, at a depth of 30-km below the surface.

Other two quakes took place 18-km and 118-km of southwest Pagai Selatan, respectively at a depth of 22-km and 10-km, at around 2:57 a.m. and 3:22 a.m. Another tremor shook at around 5:10 a.m, located 24-km of southwest Pagai Utara in Mentawai Islands, at a depth of 20-km.

At the same location, two tremors occurred at 5:59 a.m. and 6:12 a.m., respectively, at a depth of 39-km and 15-km. On Monday night, A strong earthquake hit off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami watch. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 7.5-magnitude temblor struck at a depth of 20 miles (30 kilometers) and is centered on a small island off the coast of Sumatra, where a massive earthquake and tsunami hit in 2004.Source