Earthquake at Vista Bay

7th April 2010
Today got the greatest alarm a human can get......or at least to me..... I were or should i say, the residents were awaken by the swaying of the building. This is the second time happen at our place and this one would be surely classified as strongest of them all. Below is the news taken from The Star newspaper hours later.

"KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Meteorological Department has lifted the earlier tsunami alert it issued for coastal areas of Perlis, Penang and Kedah following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in North Sumatra.

In a statement Wednesday morning, it said that it lifted the alert because only a small tsunami had occurred in Sumatra following the quake.

The earthquake had hit North Sumatera, 448km southwest of Pangkor Island Wednesday morning. Tremors were felt in the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia.

The department had earlier warned people to keep away from the beach.

The Associated Press quoted the US Geological Survey saying that the quake struck at 5.15am (2215 GMT) and was centred 205km northwest of Sibolga in Sumatra at a depth of 46km.

The Indonesia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning following the quake, but lifted it two hours later.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu also issued a tsunami watch. The centre said no tsunami threat existed for other coastal areas in the Indian Ocean, although some areas could experience small sea level changes and strong or unusual coastal currents.

Fauzi, an official at the meteorology agency’s Jakarta office who uses a single name, said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but officials were monitoring the situation.

Local media reports said the quake, which struck as people in the region were preparing for morning prayers, caused panic in North Sumatra’s capital of Medan and other cities in the province. Electricity was cut in Medan.

People in some cities along the southeastern coast of Sumatra as well as Sinabang on Simeulue island and Gunung Sitoli on nearby Nias island poured into the streets and rushed to higher ground, reports said."

What should we actually do in the event like this?..... Answer, coming up next.....