Powerful Earthquakes Kill Four, Causing Widespread Damage in Indonesia
Monday, January 5, 2009 (9:57 am)
By WorthyNews Staff
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – Recovery work continued Monday, January 5, after at least four people were killed and dozens more injured as two powerful earthquakes hit Indonesia over the weekend, cutting power lines and destroying buildings, officials said.
A tsunami alert was issued, but it was revoked within an hour after it was determined the epicenter of the quakes were on land.
The first quake measured 7.6 on the Richter scale and occurred 95 miles west-northwest of Manokwari in Papua about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) east of Jakarta. Just over two hours later, the region was struck again when an earthquake measuring 7.3 hit the Manokwari area approximately 1,870 miles (3,010 kilometers) east of the Indonesian capital. These massive earthquakes were followed by 10 aftershocks, officials said.
The damage was still being assessed by officials. Rahmat Priyono, a supervisor at the National Earthquake Center was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying that "since the epicenters were on land, they have a potential to cause significant damage." The seismic energy released in a 7.5 earthquake is equivalent to roughly 160 million tons of TNT, according to experts.
In 2004, a huge quake off the coast of Indonesia caused a tsunami that killed over 200,000 people.
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