A magnitude 8.5 earthquake has occured in the Sumatra region of Indonesia. This is an aftershock to the 9.0 earthquake from last December, which caused the devestating Asian tsunami.

There are fears that this quake could cause another tsunami. Details forthcoming.

UPDATE - 2P - Though this is nearly as powerful as December's quake, according to experts on CNN and MSNBC television, this quake is centered further south than the December quake, reducing the likelihood of a tsunami in the areas struck by the Boxing Day Tsunami.

According to a quote from a Reuters report, an official on one Indonesian island says that "dozens" have died.

A massive earthquake killed dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of homes in the main town on Indonesia's Nias island Monday evening, a local government official told Metro TV.

"I can guarantee that dozens have died," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of Gunungsitoli town, said.

Indonesia's Metro TV quoted a resident on the island of Nias, off western Sumatra, as saying buildings there were damaged.

"Things are quite bad right now," the resident said. "There is much damage. People are running in panic. Many people are also trapped."

He did not elaborate on what he meant by people were "trapped."

UPDATE: - 2:30P - The US Geologocal Survey has raised the magnitude of this quake from an initial read of 8.2 to a whopping 8.7. In comparison, the Boxing Day quake in December was a 9.0.

UPDATE - 2:50P - According to Confederate Yankee, the DUmmies at Democratic Underground are already blaming Bush for the quake.

Posted by: mhking at 07:04 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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