Indonesia Earthquake September 30 2009

With the recent rash of Earthquakes and seismic activity in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, residents are starting to worry. This is an understandable concern as the region has been hit with two major earthquakes in as many days.

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Yesterday (September 29, 2009) an earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of American Samoa. The Samoa Earthquake resulted in a Tsunami wave which caused destruction on the Island of American Samoa as well as neighbouring Islands and a Tsunami watch continued throughout the day for area's as far away as Hawaii and the California coastline. For more on the September 29th 2009 Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami

Today, (September 30, 2009) an Earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit approximately 50 KM off the coast of Sumatra. The massive underwater Earthquake, which had a depth of 85 kilometres, briefly prompted the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami alert for Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Once the danger of a Tsunami seemed minimul, the Tsunami warning for Indonesia was lifted.

The 7.6 Earthquake, off the coast of Western Indonesia caused substantial damage as buildings toppled and bridges collapsed as residents of Indonesia were sent fleeing for safety.

Witnesses of the Indonesia Earthquake of September 30, 2009 said people ran out of homes and buildings in fear when the Indonesia Earthquake hit in the early evening. Tremors from the September 30 2009 Indonesia Earthquake were felt in the capital of Jakarta as well as in Singapore and Malaysia.

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Video footage of the Indonesia Earthquake showed devastation, with piles of rubble and smashed houses in Sumatra. The Indonesia Earthquake has also caused widespread power and phone line outages, according to Indonesian officials. Several injuries are being reported however, it is unclear if there were any deaths, as a result of the Indonesian Earthquake.

Several buildings have reportedly collapsed in the coastal city of Padang in the Southern Sumatra province as well as in other town and cities.

Geologists have long said Padang, with a population of 900,000, may one day be destroyed by a huge earthquake because of its location.

Indonesia is a vast archipelago which straddles continental plates and is prone to Earthquake and Volcanic activity along what is known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Indonesia Earthquake was along the same fault line that spawned the massive December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Earlier this month, Indonesia was witness to another Earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale. This earthquake also caused substantial damage to the region.

Hours earlier, a tsunami had swept into Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, killing at least 99 people after a strong underwater quake in the South Pacific.

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Bridges collapsed in Sumatra, according to reports, cutting off the coastal area.

There were also reports that the tremor caused several water pipelines to break, causing flooding in streets.

It is not yet clear if the quake had any impact on the country's large oilfields and liquefied natural gas terminal, which are also based on Sumatra.