Earthquake reawakens Asia’s fear of tsunami

In nations around the Indian Ocean, thousands scrambled for higher ground after powerful quakes triggered fears of a disaster in a region all too familiar with the power of a tsunami.

Warnings that destructive waves could tear into coastal regions sparked mass evacuations, reawakening painful memories of the 2004 tsunami that claimed nearly a quarter of a million lives.

The quake was 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.

The 8.6-magnitude undersea quake and strong aftershocks hit off Indonesia’s Sumatra island just a few hundred kilometres from the epicentre of 2004’s deadly event, with witnesses saying they felt the ground shake for over a minute.

In Indonesia’s Banda Aceh, which was devastated by the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami, people raced from tall buildings and headed inland as warnings of another destructive tsunami were issued across the region.

It caused chaos in the streets of Aceh. Patients poured out of hospitals, some with drips still attached to their arms. In some places, electricity was briefly cut.

“There are people trying to evacuate, some are praying and children at a school were panicking as teachers tried to get them out,” an AFP correspondent in Banda Aceh said.

“There are traffic jams everywhere as people are trying to get away from the coast — many are on motorcycles,” he said, adding that telephone connections and electricity were patchy.

Television images showed hundreds gathering at a large mosque in Banda Aceh, 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.

The alerts were cancelled several hours later after the waves proved to be limited and, at their highest, less than a metre tall. But in the hours before the all-clear, there were chaotic scenes as people grabbed their families and raced through crowded streets, with motorbikes and cars jostling for space.

“It lasted a very long time,” said Australian Steven Sewell in Padang, West Sumatra, where he runs a surfing charter business, adding that the quake sparked fear in the streets.

“We headed to higher ground above the river for two hours then the second one [aftershock] hit.

“The second one was almost as long as the first one. Just prolonged shaking from side to side... Pretty scary when your pregnant wife’s in the car.”

“What did we do to deserve this?” cried Aisyah Husaini, 47, who lost both her parents and a son in the 2004 tsunami. “What sins have we committed?

“I’m so scared, I don’t want to lose my family again,” she said, clinging to her two children in a mosque in Banda Aceh, where hundreds of people sheltered.

In Sri Lanka which was also hard-hit by the 2004 disaster, thousands fled coastal homes after a tsunami warning was issued across the island and residents were urged to move inland to avoid large waves.

“There is a near panic situation,” said a resident in Trincomalee contacted by telephone, adding that the port city was packed with last-minute shoppers trying to stock up before the traditional New Year tomorrow.

Malaysian state news agency Bernama said the quake was felt across the country including in the capital Kuala Lumpur, and the northern state of Perlis where residents rushed from apartment blocks.

Buildings swayed as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok. Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center advised people in the area to move to higher places and stay as far away as possible from the sea.

Australian Bonnie Muddle, vacationing on the Thai resort island of Phuket, said people were being evacuated from popular tourist areas including Krabi and Phang Nga Bay amid rumours that towering waves up to six metres high were coming towards them.

“Everyone is getting a little concerned over here,” she said.

The 2004 disaster was triggered by a massive 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra which caused a tsunami that wrought devastation across the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 220,000 people.

Last year, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, killing some 19,000 people.

Small tsunamis hit Indonesia and Thailand, with waves of nearly 80cm in Aceh, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.

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