TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1629Z 28 MAR 2005

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE PACIFIC BASIN EXCEPT
ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THERE IS NO TSUNAMI WARNING
OR WATCH IN EFFECT.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 1610Z 28 MAR 2005
COORDINATES - 2.3 NORTH 97.1 EAST
LOCATION - NORTHERN SUMATERA INDONESIA
MAGNITUDE - 8.5

EVALUATION

THIS EARTHQUAKE IS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC. NO TSUNAMI THREAT
EXISTS TO COASTLINES IN THE PACIFIC.

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.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE BULLETINS
FOR ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

Lethal quake rattles tsunami zone

A massive earthquake off the coast of Indonesia is reported to have killed hundreds of people and triggered tsunami alerts around the Indian Ocean.

The 8.7 magnitude quake struck just before midnight, destroying buildings on the Sumatra island of Nias.

Thousands of people fled their homes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka - areas still recovering from the deadly tsunami in December.

But three hours after the quake, tsunami alerts were scaled down.

About 300 people were killed on the island of Nias, not far from the epicentre, officials said.

"We are busy now trying to pull people or bodies of children from the collapsed building," said one police officer. "It is very hard also because there is no power."

Agus Mendrofa, deputy mayor of the Nias town of Gunungsitoli, told Indonesian TV: "Gunungsitoli is now like a dead town. The situation here is in extreme panic."

'Simply huge'

Nias lies about 200km (125 miles) off the Sumatran mainland.

The tremor struck at around 2315 local time (1615 GMT) and lasted up to three minutes, Indonesian monitors said.

On 26 December, a tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed or swept away more than 200,000 in Indonesia alone, with an estimated further 100,000 deaths in 11 other countries.

"It seems [Monday's] earthquake did not trigger a tsunami," Prihar Yadi, a scientist with the Indonesian Geophysics Agency, told AP.

"And if there's no tsunami on the coastline near the epicentre... there will not be one heading in the other direction."

In Sumatra's Aceh province, which was devastated in December, aidworker Jon Kennedy said the ground had "swayed".

"It was simply huge - we ran into the street," the Tearfund aidworker said.

Communications in the area were swamped, although some mobile phone messages were getting through.

'Neighbours screaming'

Russ Evans, a seismologist from the British Geological Survey, told the BBC that Monday's tremor quake was almost certainly an after-shock of the earlier quake, which had a magnitude of 9.

The quake was felt across the region with people in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, some 500km away, evacuating high-rise buildings and running out into the streets.

"I was getting ready for bed, and suddenly, the room started shaking," said Kuala Lumpur resident Jessie Chong.

"I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then I heard my neighbours screaming and running out."

Thailand and India, badly hit by the December disaster, temporarily issued tsunami alerts while Sri Lanka evacuated coastal areas.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4388579.stm