7.8 magnitude earthquake off Indonesian coast prompts tsunami warnings
A powerful and shallow earthquake off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered tsunami warnings in that country as well as watches for western Australia on Wednesday evening, local time.
The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter Scale, according to the U.S. Geological Service (USGS), and it was centered only 10 kilometers, or 6.2 kilometers, under the ocean surface.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued a marine warning for distant Cocos and Christmas islands. It did not advise evacuations, but said strong and dangerous currents were possible and people should secure boats and avoid waterfront areas. The warning noted that a tsunami had not been confirmed.
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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there is little danger of a tsunami directed at the Hawaiian islands from this particular earthquake.
A monster quake off Indonesia in 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Most of the deaths were in Aceh province.
Since that earthquake and tsunami occurred, scientists have worked to improve the detection and warning network for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean in particular, deploying specialized buoys for this purpose.
Indonesia lies along the so-called "Ring of Fire" that forms an outline around the Pacific Ocean. In these regions, the Earth's plates are inexorably grinding against one another, leading to the building of mountain ranges, volcanoes and the triggering of earthquakes.
According to the USGS, about 90 percent of the world's earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
