The epicenters - Indonesia (8.5 on the Richter scale) and Bangladesh (7.3). At this stage there are no complete data on the number of victims; More than 300 dead from the impact of a tsunami wave in Sri Lanka. Thailand and India were also affected
(Note - in the end, the real number was over a quarter of a million people, of which about five were Israelis)
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/earthquack261204.html.html
ׁ
21:45 The number of dead has risen to 11 thousand.
(17:15 The update for this stage speaks of 7,000 deaths in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and currently speaking of 8.9 on the Richter scale.)
A series of earthquakes hit the South Asian countries this morning, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and India. According to preliminary estimates, the noises caused the largest number of casualties and the most damage. The noises also caused huge waves in the sea ("tsunamis"), which cause floods in extensive coastal areas.
The two main epicenters are the province of Aceh in the north of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, where a noise of 8.5 on the Richter scale was measured, and the country of Bangladesh, where a noise of 7.36 was measured. Data regarding the number of casualties from most places is not available at this time, and many areas have been cut off.
(This report refers to nine o'clock in the morning Israel time) According to a preliminary report, more than 300 people were killed in a flood caused by the impact of a tsunami wave on the southern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka, which are populated, among other things, by many tourists. A tsunami wave hit Thailand as well, causing, according to initial reports, hundreds of casualties, including at least 14 deaths in southern Thailand, among others on the tourist island of Phuket. From Indonesia, nine deaths have been reported so far in a flood caused by a wave that hit the coast of Aceh province.
India was apparently hit by weaker noises, but there are also reports of great destruction, including the collapse of buildings and roads. More than 70 deaths were reported from the south of the country from the impact of a tsunami wave. Reports of destruction are also coming from Malaysia and Singapore.
It should be noted that a few days ago an earthquake with a magnitude of over 7 on the Richter scale hit the sea halfway between Antarctica and Australia.
The meteorological service: another earthquake is possible
The meteorological service in the United States reported, as mentioned, an earthquake intensity of 8.9 on the Richter scale. According to reports from the meteorological service of Ingunz, another earthquake and volcanic eruption may be expected following the first earthquake.
It was also reported that the earthquake in Indonesia is the most powerful in the world in the last 40 years. And in fact it is the fifth strongest since 1900 worldwide.
Eyewitnesses interviewed by a local radio station reported seeing nine bodies in Banda Aka, where parts of the city's largest hotel collapsed. The ground, they say, shook for a long time. Tall buildings swayed from Singapore to Bangkok, but most of the damage was done in Indonesia's Akka province.
The impact of the earthquake also reached the capital of Thailand, Bangkok and Singapore. At least four tourists were killed while on the beach in the southern resort area of the Thai island of Puka, according to reports from the Ministry of Health there. Earlier it was reported that a number of tourists were swept away from the Phuket beach by huge waves that swelled and reached a height of five meters, but it is not yet clear if these are the same people who were reported to have been killed. The victims were in Songkhla, Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani, which attract thousands of visitors each year due to their world-famous beaches. Reports indicate that at least four are tourists.
A nightmare of a vacation
Several other resort areas in Thailand were flooded. On Phang Nga Island, a popular tourist area near Phuket, people fled the floods and took shelter on the roofs of houses. Cars were also washed away by the rising water at the neighbor's - Karbi. The Thai government asked tourists to enter the mainland from the coastal area. According to the government, 160 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured in Thailand's resort towns.
Residents of a residential building in Bangkok said that they heard loud sounds of cracking walls and felt vibrations and fled their apartments. Residents of some residential buildings in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, a tourist island in northern Malaysia, were also evacuated as a precaution. There were no immediate reports of damage but workers are now checking several buildings to determine if they were damaged.
In Malaysia, at least 42 deaths were reported, in the area near the resort beaches of Thailand. Tourists were also among the dead, it was reported.
A spokesman for the government airline 'Groda' reported that the airport in Banda Aka, located several kilometers from the sea, was flooded and planes could not land there. The spokesman did not report the water level. Hundreds of people flee to higher ground. Officials from the hospital reported that 17 people were seriously injured, including one whose leg was severely injured by falling house parts.
A correspondent of the AP news agency in Luxemburg reported that a number of houses were damaged and that the water level in the main streets of the city reached a meter. At least one house was washed away with the water.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: No missing Israelis are known
The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel, Racheli Shani, said that at this stage there are no known missing or injured Israelis in the area. The situation room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to monitor the reports. The telephone number of the situation room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is 02-5303155.
The President of Indonesia was visiting the area at the time of the earthquake
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was in Papua province visiting victims of the earthquake earlier this month, was extremely concerned by news of the earthquake, his spokesman said.
Indonesia, a country with 17 thousand islands, is prone to outbreaks of earthquakes due to its location on the tectonic boundary that causes what is called the "Ring of Fire" around the base of the Pacific Ocean. In November, 29 people were killed when an earthquake struck Indonesia's eastern province of Papua.
The damage reaches as far as the Australian Islands
The Cocos Islands, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, were also hit by high waves, apparently caused by the earthquake that triggered a deadly tsunami across Southeast Asia, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.
Emergency services are on alert on the sparsely populated island in northwestern Australia in case the tsunami hits it.
The damage in Phuket from the tsunami this morning
Earth scientist - planet
