Sunday, August 16, 2009

Four people have been injured after a series of earthquakes struck West Sumatra in Indonesia. They were wounded by falling masonry while fleeing Padang.

Sudirman Gani, head of the local administration’s politics and national unity division, stated that “the first quake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale was recorded at 2:48 p.m. It was followed by a 5.2-magnitude quake at 3:13 p.m., before the last one, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, hit 10 minutes later.”

The wounded were taken to Yos Sudarso public hospital with minor injuries. The first earthquake occurred 38 miles (45 kilometres) under the Indian Ocean according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Indonesia’s meteorological and geophysics agency did not issue a tsunami warning.

No-one else was injured by the earthquakes. Ade Edward, West Sumatra’s disaster mitigation coordinator, said that “We have told all residents to stay alert and not to worry too much since we will guard the city [Padang].”