An 8.6-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s western Aceh province, the U.S. Geological Survey said today, prompting coastal residents around the Indian Ocean to flee to higher ground as tsunami warnings were issued.
The quake hit 431 kilometers (268 miles) off the coast of Aceh, one of Indonesia’s poorest provinces where 170,000 people died or went missing in a tsunami in 2004, followed by aftershocks. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled its tsunami watch for all areas of the Indian Ocean about four hours after the initial earthquake, as did the Indonesian agency.
“The early warning system is working well” and there are no reports of casualties or damage in Aceh and elsewhere, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in Jakarta today in a briefing with British Prime Minister David Cameron. “I have asked the head of the National Agency for Disaster Management to fly to Aceh with his team to ensure that the situation is under control, and take the action if needed.”
Tsunami waves were detected in the Sabang and Meulaboh districts in Aceh, the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said in an e-mailed statement today. The water level was 6 centimeters (2.36 inch) high in Sabang and 80 centimeters high in Meulaboh, the agency said. Aid organizations including World Vision said they are on standby.
2004 Tsunami
“We don’t know yet how many buildings have been damaged, that’s still being counted,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of the Indonesian disaster management agency’s data and information center, said at a briefing in Jakarta. “Since the first quake there have been 18 aftershocks.”
More than 220,000 were killed across 12 countries after a magnitude-9.1 quake off Sumatra in 2004 unleashed waves that destroyed coastal areas around the Indian Ocean. Indonesia’s 18,000 islands are prone to temblors because the nation sits along the Pacific’s “ring of fire” zone of active volcanoes and tectonic faults. A magnitude-9.0 earthquake off northern Japan in March last year triggered a tsunami up to 39 meters (128 feet) high that left almost 20,000 people dead or missing.
Today’s aftershocks included a magnitude-8.2 temblor, according to the USGS.
Regional Tremors
Buildings in neighboring Singapore shook after the quake, which was initially measured at a magnitude of 8.9. Tremors were felt as far as Ho Chi Minh City, said Le Huy Minh, the head of earthquake and tsunami monitoring at Vietnam’s Institute of Geophysics, and in India.
Chennai Port Trust asked ships to go out to sea until 6 p.m. local time as a precaution after the earthquake and tsunami warning, Deputy Chairman P.C. Parida said by telephone. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. evacuated employees from two of its facilities in Chennai as a measure of “extreme caution,” according to an e-mailed statement.
The epicenter was 963 kilometers west of Kuala Lumpur and 1,797 kilometers west northwest of Jakarta, the USGS said.
“The faulting was horizontal rather than vertical and so there was no uplift of the sea floor,” which is what causes tsunamis, said Kevin McCue, adjunct professor at the Central Queensland University and director at the Australian Seismology Center. “I expect very little damage to Sumatra and certainly no Indian Ocean-wide tsunami.”
Market Reaction
News of the quake emerged about 15 minutes before stock trading in Indonesian ended at 4 p.m. local time. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) was little changed afterward before paring losses in the final minute of trade. It ended the day 0.5 percent lower at 4,130.01.
Indonesia’s rupiah fell to its lowest level in almost three weeks and Thai stocks slumped. The rupiah weakened 0.2 percent to 9,205 per dollar after strengthening 0.4 percent before the quake. It touched 9,208, the weakest since March 23. Thailand’s SET Index (SET) sank 1 percent to a one-month low of 1,154.49.
Tin for delivery in three months in London gained as much as 0.4 percent, after falling as 1.5 percent today,. a metric ton
Tin for three-month delivery rose as much as 0.4 percent on the London Metal Exchange after the quake on speculation output from Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter, will be disrupted. The metal used in electronic solders fell 0.7 percent to $22,600 a ton by 2:36 p.m. in London as concern about damages abated.
Koba Tin Co.’s operation on the Bangka Island east of Sumatra wasn’t affected by the quake, Suryadi, a spokesman at the tin producer, said by telephone. PT Timah’s tin operations weren’t affected either, Abrun Abubakar, corporate secretary, said. Timah’s operations are on Bangka island off the east coast of Sumatra.
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