Major quake prompts tsunami alert Mar. 28, 2005. 12:42 PM
BANGKOK, Thailand - A large earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra Island in the Andaman Sea late today. The U.S. Geological Survey website described it as a “great” quake with magnitude of 8.2.
Thai officials issued a warning of a possible tsunami, three months after a tsunami devastated parts of Indonesia, Thailand and several other countries bordering on the Indian Ocean.
The quake occurred at 11:09 p.m. local time at a depth of nearly 30 kilometres, the USGS in Golden, Colo., said.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency measured the quake at magnitude 8.5.
On Dec. 26, an undersea earthquake off Sumatra with a magnitude of more than 9.0 — the world’s biggest quake in 40 years — sent a huge tsunami charging across the Indian Ocean at the speed of a passenger jet.
The tsunami killed more than 174,000 people and left another 106,000 missing in 11 countries. More than 1.5 million people were left homeless.
Tremors were felt throughout peninsular Malaysia’s west coast, causing thousands of residents to flee high-rise apartment buildings and hotels. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or major damage.
“I was getting ready for bed, and suddenly, the room started shaking,” said Jessie Chong, a resident of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital.
“I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then I heard my neighbours screaming and running out,” he said.
