Indonesian Quake Death Toll Rises to 1000

[deminks]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050330/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake&sid=84439559

GUNUNG SITOLI, Indonesia - The death toll from a powerful earthquake that devastated a remote Indonesian island rose to an estimated 1,000 Wednesday, according to Sumatra's governor, as rescuers searched frantically through collapsed buildings for survivors.

The death toll has risen steadily. Officials put it at 330 Tuesday. But Sumatra Gov. Rizal Nurdin estimated the figure had risen to 1,000 on Wednesday. Government officials have said it could climb as high as 2,000.

Monday's quake, which stuck an hour before midnight, toppled every building in the main street of Gunung Sitoli, a church-studded seaside town that is the island's largest.

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Anybody know if this was officially its own quake or an aftershock

from the big one last Dec? I know there have been dozens of quakes there since then, in the 3 - 4 range, and a few 5.

Anybody know?

[deminks]

2. "Cascade earthquakes"

I found this article that talks about cascade earthquakes. It might be helpful.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050329/sc_afp/asiaquakescience_050329182438

PARIS (AFP) - A prominent seismologist said he could not rule out the risk of a third big quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where two massive temblors have occurred in just three months.

"The theory is that this particular region has seismic cycles of between 150 years and 200 years. The December 26 event caused extreme disruption, and one possibility is of a cascade of quakes."

"Cascade earthquakes" -- a series of earthquakes that decline in magnitude until the tension is eased -- are a known phenomenon in seismology.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Good article. thanks. n/t