Words like that are being used to describe the magnitude 8.9 earthquake off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra that occurred just before 8 PM (EST) last evening. The effects of the quake and the accompanying tsunamis has devastated thousands of people across the Asian sub-continent. The USGS Earthquake Center reports:
At least 2,200 people killed in Sri Lanka, 1,600 in India, 700 in Indonesia, 220 in Thailand, 29 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh by tsunamis. Tsunamis also occurred on the coasts of Maldives, Cocos Island and Somalia. At least 200 people killed, buildings destroyed or damaged in the Banda Aceh area, Sumatra. Felt widely in Sumatra. Also felt in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. This is the fifth largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and is the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake.News is coming in about the tsunamis, death tolls, and the aftermath of the earthquake. This also makes one think about the possible severity of Near Earth Object 2004 MN4. This quake was like 10,000 A-Bombs; 2004 MN4 is estimated at 10 times greater! Scary thought - let me revise my possible observing position for that one: make it the moon!
