Not again - major quake in Indian Ocean just a few minutes ago

[scaeagles]

A major earthquake - registering at anywhere between 8.3 and 8.5 - just hit a few minutes ago in very close to the same spot as the one on Dec. 26th.

I hope the news gets out fast and that areas can be evacuated fast enough.

[Nephythys]

man- you beat me to it by seconds-

Big Earthquake Hits Off Indonesia Island


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Mar 28, 12:09 PM (ET)


BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A large earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra Island in the Andaman Sea late Monday, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a major quake measuring a magnitude of 8.2.

Thai officials issued a warning of a possible tsunami, three months after a tsunami devastated parts of Indonesia and other countries in the region. The quake occurred at 11:09 p.m. local at a depth of nearly 19 miles, the USGS in Golden, Colo., said.

Japan's Meteorological Agency measured the quake at magnitude 8.5.


Hope against hope that it won't happen again-

[Ghoulish Delight]

While it's certainly a possibility, it's pretty unlikely. Major tsunamis are rare to begin with and require some pretty unique earthquake conditions. Plus, the difference between an 8.2 (which is what they are now calling this one) and a 9.0, which is what caused the last tsunami, is significant. The Richter scale is logrithmic, meaning that each whole number step is actually an increase in a facter of 10. So a 9.0 is 10 times as strong as an 8.0.

But, that being said, it can't hurt to hope for the best.

[mousepod]

Scary stuff, nonetheless. There were reports for the last couple of weeks of tectonic shifts... they saw something coming.

[Gn2Dlnd]

No tsunami. Collapsed buildings, but no tsunami. Pretty bad stuff.