Earthquake 6.6 on the richter scale rocks Aceh

by uusjio | February 20, 2008 at 04:45 pm

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Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - A tectonic earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale on Wednesday afternoon jolted Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province causing local people to panic, especially those living on the province`s western and southern coastal areas.

Head of the Mata Ie Geophysics Station in Aceh Besar district, Syahnan, said the epicenter of the quake which was located at a depth of 30 kilometers occurred at 3.08 p.m. on the coordinates of 2.58 degrees northern latitude -95.99 degrees eastern longitude, some 42 kilometers southwest of Sinabang a, Simeulue district.

The quake whose epicenter was located on land took place about 15 minutes was also felt by people in Aceh`s capital of Banda Aceh but in a stronger way in Simeulue, Meulaboh (West Aceh) and Tapaktuan (South Aceh).

Syahnan said the quake was the strongest among the temblors that happened in the first two months of 2008 and its epicenter was not far from the one that triggered the devastating tsunami on December 26, 2004, in the western and southwestern parts of Banda Aceh.

It was reported from Aceh Barat district that several people in Meulaboh rushed out of their houses when they felt the quake which took place long enough causing fear of a possible tsunami like that in late 2004.

Until this report was released, no report of damaged buildings due to the quake was available but some people including employees of government offices and shopping centers looked traumatized. (*) END

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