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6.2 Earthquake Hits Sumatra, Indonesia, and Vanuatu
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by cyn.khoo | July 26, 2009 at 05:53 pm
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A 6.2 earthquake struck both the Republic of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, and the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, July 27, 2009 (July 26 PST). The two earthquakes occurred about ten minutes apart, causing no serious damage in Vanuatu while the consequences of the quake in Sumatra remain unknown.
Both Sumatra and Vanuatu are found on the "Pacific Ring of Fire", which is prone to volcanic and earthquake-related activity due to the fact that the ring marks where continental plates meet.
According to witnesses in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu, the earthquake caused buildings and the ground to shake heavily for approximately ten seconds.
"It started slowly but became more and more intense as it went along,'' said New Zealand tourist Caroline Marsh, who was having breakfast in her Port Vila hotel when the quake struck.
"It was a low rumbling, almost a growling, that seemed to shake the building from its foundations. It was really quite scary because for a while we worried that it would keep on gathering strength and bring the building down.''
The Vanuatu earthquake hit approximately 29 kilometers west of Port Vila, undersea at 51 kilometers deep, reported the US Geological Survey.
The Sumatra earthquake epicentre was 135 kilometers southeast of Bengkulu and 66.5 kilometers deep, along Sumatra's western coast.
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