Earthquake in Indonesia - 7.9
 

So just a couple of hours ago, I was sitting my office on the 23rd floor and the whole building started to sway. It was swaying enough to make it difficult to walk and enough to hear the windows creaking in their seams.

It turns out that there was a very large earthquake about 400 km away on the south side of the Island of Sumatra. Early news reports indicate that it was about 7.9 on the Richter Scale and that a number of buildings have collapsed.

A tsunami warning had been issued but has since been called off, as the danger period for a tsunami has passed.

Apparently Indonesia has gone from one earthquake a year to more recently, one a month... make you wonder what's happening in the subduction zone off the coast. Is something bigger coming?

Well for us, the good news is that you're ok.

I read some other stories that make it sound like there's not much damage, but with this scale of quake, I find that hard to believe unless the epicenter was extremely rural.

The subduction zone there has been active for centuries. Remember that one of the most powerful volcanos/earthquakes ever happened when Krakatoa happened about 100 years ago.

Wow Char, I'm glad you're alright!

Earthquakes are scary, no doubt about it. It's been a number of years since our last earthquake (the Nisqually quake of 2001) in the PacNW, but the Nisqually quake opened everyone's eyes to the fact that--gasp! We do get earthquakes here!

I'm glad to hear you're okay. Does your family know what to do in case of an earthquake? Do you have an emergency plan and a meeting place? These are important things to be prepared for, especially if you live in an area where they're common.

Hey Charlatan, Glad you're OK. I think we (in Asia) are still getting some fallout from the big one three years ago. I'll not be surprised if we get a little more action here as things settle out. Stay safe!

Forgive my woefully geography - was the effect felt as far away as Penang? I cannot find much about it on the UK news services, and have friends and business colleagues there.

Glad to hear you're safe.

Glad you're safe. Earthquakes can be very devastating.

Glad your safe Charlatan!

What's it feel like being in a swaying building?

Thanks everyone. I don't think I was in any real danger as we are far enough away from the centre of this and all of the other earthquakes in the region. The subduction zone is about 400km away at the closest. While I received a good ride at the office, mostly because of the physics of being on the 23rd story of a 40 story building, people on the ground barely felt anything.

Apparently rescue crews are set to head out from Jakarta as soon as it's daylight (in about 30 minutes from now at 7 am). Early reports indicate that several buildings have collapsed and the death count is around eight so far. Given the size of the quake I expect it will go up considerably once daylight allows them to see what has happened.

Swaying on the 23rd floor would...disturb...me. I'm glad you are well.

Something bigger is always coming.