I'm surprised no one has posted about this. For many of us, this is the strongest earthquake in our lifetime. I hope that the estimate of 700 people does not get much higher. What is weird for me is that I was watching the earthquake scene in the movie Superman when this was happening in real life.
Mother Nature kicking our asses. I hope any TFPers who may be near this expansive area are well.
Quote:
JAKARTA, Indonesia - The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years rocked northern Indonesia on Sunday and launched tidal waves that swamped villages and seaside resorts across Asia, killing more than 700 people in five countries.
Some 300 were reported killed in Sri Lanka, 286 in India, 94 in Indonesia, 61 in Thailand and seven in Malaysia. Hundreds were reported missing, and the death toll was expected to rise.
The U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites) said a magnitude-8.9 quake — one capable of massive damage — struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra at 8 a.m. Sunday. The USGS (news - web sites) revised the quake's size upward from magnitude-8.5.
Soon after it hit, immense waves or tsunamis crashed into several countries, and aftershocks in the magnitude-7 range were seen, the USGS said, raising the possibility of a catastrophic regional death toll.
Waves crashed into coastal villages over a wide area of Sri Lanka — some 1,000 miles west of the quake's epicenter — killing some 300 people and displacing thousands of others, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake.
Parts of the northeastern districts of Muttur and Trincomalee were inundated by waves as high as 20 feet, said D. Rodrigo, a Muttur district official.
In India, beaches were turned into virtual open mortuaries with bodies of people caught in the tidal wave being washed ashore.
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Yahoo!