Contingency Planning

Indonesia Lifts Tsunami Warning

October 26, 2007

Indonesia has lifted a tsunami warning after a 7.0 magnitude quake hit Bengkulu province of Sumatra Island on Thursday morning. As of yet, there is no report of damages and casualty, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency and Disaster Management Agency.

An official of the Disaster Management Agency Chairulyusuf says that he has contacted military at the province. "We have contacted the military command at North Bengkulu regency and the capital of Bengkulu province. There are no damages or casualties so far," he says.

The quake epicenter was166 kilometers southwest of Lais in the Bengkulu province, near the North Bengkulu regency and 10 kilometers under the sea bed.

"The strong shakes of the quake were felt very strongly by the people in the province,"

The quake struck at 4:02 Jakarta time (2102 GMT), the meteorology agency says. Its intensity was felt at three to four on the modified mercally intensity scale.

Twenty-three people were killed and thousands of buildings were destructed last month after a 7.9 richter scale quake rocked the province. Many believed the quake could have created a tsunami,.

In 2004, more than 170,000 people died in Aceh province on the northern tip of the island after a tsunami triggered by a powerful quake that devastated coastal areas of the province and others countries in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia sits at a vulnerable zone called the Pacific Ring of Fire where two continental plates, stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia, meet that cause frequent volcanic movements.

— China View News