Another major earthquake in Southeast Asia has just occurred. According to the USGS:
A great earthquake occurred at 16:09:37 (UTC) on Monday, March 28, 2005. The magnitudeAn earthquake of this magnitude can generate tsunamis. Of interest is the latest Tsunami Bulletin from NOAA which says that there is no threat to countries bordering the Pacific Ocean (since the quake was centered on the western side of Indonesia) but does give interesting information regarding the Indian Ocean areas:8.28.7 event has been located in NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
WARNING... THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI IN THE OCEAN OR SEAS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE. AUTHORITIES IN THOSE REGIONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THIS ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE EVACUATION OF COASTS WITHIN A THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER AND CLOSE MONITORING TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR EVACUATION FURTHER AWAY. THIS CENTER DOES NOT HAVE SEA LEVEL GAUGES OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC SO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT OR MEASURE A TSUNAMI IF ONE WAS GENERATED. AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE DANGER HAS PASSED IF NO TSUNAMI WAVES ARE OBSERVED IN THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN THREE HOURS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.The term this center refers to NOAA. You know that you would think after the Christmas disaster that some of those local governments would be hurrying to put the equipment in to operation. I guess not... Within the past few minutes, an aftershock that is approximated to be around magnitude 8.5 has been registered. The best way to keep watch is to go to the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Update: Below is the trace from a seismograph at Columbia University in Palisades, NY:
