Earthquake with Tsunami Concern Thailand Site Tour Man routing include

Tsunami fear grips beach resorts in Thailand and Indonesia as earthquake hits
From: The Courier-Mail April 12, 2012 7:50am 1 comment
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Huge quake strikes off Indonesia coast
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Quake off Indonesia sparks tsunami alert
An 8.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh triggers a tsunami warning in the Indian Ocean. Rough Cut (no reporter narrat...
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Quake sparks fear of repeat of Boxing Day tsunami
Tourists, locals flee low-lying areas to higher ground
Aussies tourists tell of mass panic after 8.6 quake
AUSTRALIANS in Thailand and Indonesia have told of mass panic as people pushed and shoved their way out of shopping centres when last night's earthquake hit and tsunami warnings sounded.

Years have passed but the message still lingers - when the earth shakes, run to higher ground.

Still haunted by the legacy of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami that killed 230,000 people - including 170,000 in Indonesia's Aceh province - panicky residents poured into the streets of Banda Aceh yesterday when a massive 8.6-magnitude quake hit, followed by an 8.2-magnitude aftershock.

In Banda Aceh there were chaotic scenes as people grabbed their families and raced through crowded streets, with motorbikes and cars jostling for space.

"There are traffic jams everywhere as people are trying to get away from the coast - many are on motorcycles," one witness said.


Wave of panic, but no tsunami

He said the ground shook for about five minutes, starting as a mild tremor then getting stronger, with phones and power going down briefly.
"There are people trying to evacuate, some are praying and children at a school were panicking as teachers tried to get them out," he added.


Acehnese women hug each other and pray shortly after a powerful earthquake hit off the western coast of Sumatra, prompting an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert.
Source: AFP
The quake, at the relatively shallow depth of 33km, was near the epicentre of the Boxing Day 2004 disaster that caused a wave of destruction across Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Burma and the Maldives.

The latest series of tremors were felt as far afield as Thailand, where skyscrapers in the capital Bangkok swayed. India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Reunion Island, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar all issued alerts or evacuation orders.

At least three tsunamis of up to 80cm later hit Indonesia's coast, while Malaysia and Sri Lanka remained on alert last night.

The Bureau of Meteorology said there was no danger for Australia.

US seismologists later cancelled the tsunami warning, saying the tremors had generated only relatively small waves and were nowhere near the scale of the disasters that struck Asia in 2004 and Japan last year.

In Banda Aceh, however, fear still runs deep.

Television images showed hundreds gathering at a large mosque, many weeping and searching for family members. Women and girls draped head-to-toe in white were praying on mats laid out on the ground.

An expert with the British Geological Survey said the tsunamis were small because the quake's movement was horizontal, not vertical, and caused no drop in the sea floor, which is what triggers tsunamis.

"Although an earthquake of this magnitude has the potential to cause a large tsunami ... we haven't seen any drop of the sea floor, which is what generates the wave," seismologist Susanne Sargeant said.

Australia-Pacific Tsunami Research Centre director Professor James Goff also said authorities were better prepared since the 2004 tsunami.

"It appears to be a strike-slip fault, which means that it is unlikely to generate a large tsunami but then we hear that at least small ones have been reported," he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was on alert to help Australians in affected countries.

Thailand issued an evacuation order for its Andaman coast, and flights to the tourist island of Phuket were diverted to other airports as passengers and staff were evacuated to higher ground.

"We cannot be complacent," a spokesman said.




Jodie Schafer and Anthony Ambrosio in Thailand in Patong.
Source: Supplied
Brisbane woman Jodie Schafer, on holiday in Patong, Thailand, with boyfriend Anthony Ambrosio, said she was on the lower ground floor of the Junceylon shopping centre at 3.45pm when people started running for the escalators.

"All of a sudden people started running in droves up stairs, escalators,'' she said. "People were pushing, shoving. We were asking what was happening, but the locals didn't say they just packed up their shops and fled.
"The other tourists were shouting that there was an earthquake and tsunami warning.''

She said they ran for the internal stairs and made their way to the roof with other shoppers to look for any signs of incoming water.

"Have been here in the sweltering sun since,'' Ms Schafer said. "Now (we are) currently in search of water and the whole shopping centre is deserted. Shop attendants have abandoned their shops.''

Australian Mark Pendlebury, who runs Phuket Sail Tours, said he was on his boat out at sea when the tsunami alert sounded back on land.

"All the coastal residences have been evacuated and the eight people on today's tour are at my house now my house is on high ground,'' he said.

"People in Australia should be quite confident that their friends and family here are being looked after.

"The Thais are set up to deal with this. They have regular tsunami drills and have had for the past few years.''

Mr Pendlebury said he heard about the earthquake and tsunami alert via a phone call from a colleague.

He said he belonged to a local Rotary club that was moving into gear to assist authorities with disaster management.

"We'll be working with the tourist police to help any tourists that need it but I think at the moment this is all very precautionary,'' he said.

"I think it is quite likely that we're not in danger but we need to be prepared just in case.

"I was here for the last tsunami and hopefully it was the last.''


Acehnese attend to patients evacuated out of hospital buildings in capital Banda Aceh after a powerful earthquake hit the western coast of Sumatra in Aceh province on April 11, 2012. A massive earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island, US and Indonesian monitors reported, prompting an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert. AFP PHOTO
Source: AFP
WavePark Mentawai employee Henny Jaslim said she felt the earthquake hit in the afternoon while her children were at school.

WavePark is one of many surfing safari companies operating throughout the Mentawai Islands that cater to thousands of Australians each year.

"We were told there was a tsunami warning but we have passed that now,'' she said.

"The earthquake went for a long time but it didn't seem as bad as the last one. I was very worried because my children were at school.

"We have a lot of Australians here surfing with us but they are all safe on the island.''

In Bali's Legian Beach, former Paddington resident Robyn Reid, who owns Bali Beach Shack, said her diners were oblivious to the drama.