A giant wave-generating quake comparable to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could strike off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The city of Padang is in direct range, said the group led by a prominent scientist who predicted a 2005 Sumatran quake with uncanny accuracy. They issued a warning in a letter to the journal Nature Geoscience.
The danger is coming from a pressure build up over the past two centuries on a section of the Sunda Trench. The Sunda Trench which runs parallel to the western Sumatra coast is one of the world's most well known earthquake zones.
The authors of the letter are led by John McCloskey, a professor of the Environmental Sciences Research Institute at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland.
Even though predictions for seismic activity are extremely rare, John McCloskey was proven right within two weeks of his last prediction.On March 28 2005, a quake measuring 8.6 erupted at Simeulue island, generating a three-metre (10-feet) tsunami.
The new letter states, "The threat from such an event is clear and the need for urgent mitigating action remains extremely high." Also saying, "It is imperative that the Indonesian authorities, with the assistance of the international community and non-governmental organisations, ensure that they complete the relief effort and earthquake-resistant reconstruction following this earthquake, and work with the people in Padang to help prepare them for the next one."
The danger is coming from a pressure build up over the past two centuries on a section of the Sunda Trench. The Sunda Trench which runs parallel to the western Sumatra coast is one of the world's most well known earthquake zones.
The authors of the letter are led by John McCloskey, a professor of the Environmental Sciences Research Institute at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland.
Even though predictions for seismic activity are extremely rare, John McCloskey was proven right within two weeks of his last prediction.On March 28 2005, a quake measuring 8.6 erupted at Simeulue island, generating a three-metre (10-feet) tsunami.
The new letter states, "The threat from such an event is clear and the need for urgent mitigating action remains extremely high." Also saying, "It is imperative that the Indonesian authorities, with the assistance of the international community and non-governmental organisations, ensure that they complete the relief effort and earthquake-resistant reconstruction following this earthquake, and work with the people in Padang to help prepare them for the next one."
The red line shows the Sumatran fault and the city of Padang lies just about in the middle of the map.
The more we educate ourselves today the safer we are in the future. Spread the knowledge. Where is the nearest fault line to where you live?
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