2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake
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UTC time | 2005-03-28 16:09:37 |
---|---|
ISC event | 7486110 |
USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
Local date | 28 March 2005 |
Local time | 23:09:37 |
Magnitude | 8.6 Mw [1] |
Depth | 30.0 km (18.6 mi) [1] |
Epicenter | 2°05′N 97°09′E / 2.09°N 97.15°E [1] |
Fault | Sunda megathrust |
Areas affected | Indonesia |
Max. intensity | MMI VIII (Severe) [2] |
Tsunami | 3.0 m (9.8 ft) at Simeulue |
Casualties | 915–1,314 deaths [3] 340–1,146 injured [3] |
The 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake occurred on 28 March off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. At least 915 people were killed, mostly on the island of Nias. The event caused panic in the region, which had already been devastated by the massive tsunami triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, but this earthquake generated a relatively small tsunami that caused limited damage. It was the third most powerful earthquake since 1965 in Indonesia.
The earthquake occurred at 16:09:37
Earthquake and damage
The earthquake lasted for about two minutes. In the twenty-four hours immediately after the event, there were eight major aftershocks, measuring between 5.5 and 6.0. Despite the proximity of the epicenter to that of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, it ruptured a separate segment of the Sunda megathrust and was most likely triggered by stress changes associated with that earlier event.[5]
On the Indonesian island of Nias, off the coast of Sumatra, hundreds of buildings were destroyed. The death toll on Nias was at least one thousand, with 220 dying in Gunungsitoli, the island's largest town. Nearly half of Gunungsitoli's population (27,000) fled.
The earthquake was strongly felt across the island of Sumatra and caused widespread power outages in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh, already devastated by the December 2004 tsunami, and prompted thousands to flee their homes and seek higher ground. It was strongly felt along the west coast of Thailand and Malaysia, and in Kuala Lumpur high-rise buildings were evacuated. The earthquake was felt less strongly in the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka.
Tsunami
The earthquake caused great concern around the
Tsunami warnings were issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and by the government of Thailand. There were initial concerns that a major tsunami could be generated, particularly travelling south from the event's hypocenter.
Portions of Thailand's southern coast were evacuated as a precaution, and NOAA advised an evacuation of 965 kilometres (600 mi) of coastline in Sumatra. Evacuations occurred in the northern
Humanitarian response
The
See also
- 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake
- 2009 Sumatra earthquakes
- 1843 Nias earthquake
- List of megathrust earthquakes
- List of earthquakes in 2005
- List of earthquakes in Indonesia
References
- ^ a b c ISC (2016), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2012), Version 3.0, International Seismological Centre
- ^ USGS. "M 8.6 - northern Sumatra, Indonesia". United States Geological Survey.
- ^ a b USGS (September 4, 2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey
- ^ "Southern Thailand evacuated after Indonesian earthquake". Archived from the original on 10 April 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2005.
- ^ USGS (22 July 2010). "Poster of the Northern Sumatra Earthquake of 28 March 2005 - Magnitude 8.7". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "India announces $2 mn relief for Indonesia". The Times Of India. Archived from the original on March 31, 2005. Retrieved 29 March 2005.
Further reading
- Boen, T. (2006), "Structural Damage in the March 2005 Nias-Simeulue Earthquake", Earthquake Spectra, 22 (3_suppl): 419–434, S2CID 110811743
- Borrero, J. C.; McAdoo, B.; Jaffe, B.; Dengler, L.; Gelfenbaum, G.; Higman, B.; Hidayat, R.; Moore, A.; Kongko, W.; Peters, R.; Prasetya, G.; Titov, V.; Yulianto, E. (2010-11-12), "Field Survey of the March 28, 2005 Nias-Simeulue Earthquake and Tsunami", Pure and Applied Geophysics, 168 (6–7): 1075–1088, S2CID 129831201
- Walker, K. T.; Ishii, M.; Shearer, P. M. (2005), "Rupture details of the 28 March 2005 Sumatra Mw8.6 earthquake imaged with teleseismic Pwaves", Geophysical Research Letters, 32 (24): L24303,
External links
- Lethal quake rattles tsunami zone – BBC News
- Earthquake causes coral reefs to die – CTV News
- Great Earthquake and Tsunami of 28 March 2005 in Sumatra, Indonesia – George Pararas-Carayannis
- The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.
- ReliefWeb's main page for this event.