Earthquakes (Indonesia) #2

Case Study: 30th September 2009, Padang


Padang, the capital of Indonesia's West Sumatra province, sits on one of the world's most active fault lines along the "Ring of Fire" where the Indo-Australia plate grinds against the Eurasia plate to create regular tremors and sometimes quakes.



At least 1100 people were killed, 2181 were injured and thousands are still unaccounted for in the Padang area. More than 2650 buildings have been damaged in the area and landslides have disrupted power and communications. Felt (VII) at Padang. Widely felt throughout Sumatra and Java, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. A small local tsunami with wave heights of 27 centimeters (amplitude measured relative to normal sea level) was generated.



"We don't know the identity of the victims yet, it's night-time now so it's dark. People are trapped, hotels have collapsed, schools have collapsed, houses have collapsed and electricity has been cut off," Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said on the day of the earthquake, quoted by AFP news agency.

An unnamed witness told Reuters there was "extreme panic" in the city, with bridges down and flooding caused by broken water pipes.




The earthquake struck at 1716 local time (1016 GMT) some 85km under the sea, north-west of Padang, the US Geological Survey said.



The quake was along the same fault line that spawned the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.



"Hundreds of houses have been damaged along the road. There are some fires, bridges are cut and there is extreme panic here," said a Reuters witness in the city, who also said broken water pipes had triggered flooding.



His mobile phone was then cut off and officials said power had been severed in the city. A resident called Adi later told Indonesia's Metro Television there was devastation around him.
"For now I can't see dead bodies, just collapsed houses. Some half destroyed, others completely. People are standing around too scared to go back inside. They fear a tsunami," said Adi.
"No help has arrived yet. I can see small children standing around carrying blankets. Some people are looking for relatives but all the lights have gone out completely."



Geologists have long warned that Padang could one day be completely destroyed by an earthquake because of its location.

"Padang sits right in front of the area with the greatest potential for an 8.9 magnitude earthquake," said Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, a geologist at the Indonesian Science Institute, in February.

"The entire city could drown" in a tsunami triggered by such a quake, he warned.