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*Great Earthquakes In Diverse Places

Two Huge 8.7, 8.2 Earthquakes strike off Indonesia; tsunami warning issued*

By Reza Munawir | Reuters

People gather outside the Baiturrahman mosque after an earthquake
hit Banda Aceh April 11, 2012. An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off
Indonesiaon Wednesday, sending residents around the region scurrying
from buildings and raising fears of a huge tsunami as in 2004, but
authorities said there were no reports suggesting a major threat.
REUTERS/Stringer

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - A powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake
and strong aftershocks struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, sending people
as far away as southern India scurrying from buildings and raising fears
of a disastrous tsunami as in 2004.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there were no
immediate reports of casualties or damage in Aceh, the Indonesian
province closest to the initial earthquake. But an aftershock of almost
the same magnitude, less deep that the first quake, hit soon after he
finished speaking.

The first quake struck at 0838 GMT and an 8.2 magnitude aftershock just
over two hours later, at 1043 GMT. Two more strong aftershocks hit later.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued fresh tsunami warnings for the
entire Indian Ocean after the aftershocks. Authorities in Indonesia said
there were reports of sea-levels rising off Aceh, but by less than a
metre (3.3 feet).

But authorities in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, to the north of
where the quakes struck, said waves of up to 3.9 metres (13 feet) could
hit there.

Individual countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and
India, issued their own tsunami warnings and people near the coast in
six Thai provinces were ordered to move to higher ground. Authorities
shut down the international airport in the Thai beach resort province of
Phuket.

The quakes were about 300 miles (500 km) southwest of the city of Banda
Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, the U.S.
Geological survey said. The first was at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km).

Indonesia's disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh
province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of
the danger.

"The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher
ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said
Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.

Yudhoyono, speaking after the first quake, said there were no signs of a
disaster.

"There is no tsunami threat although we are on alert," said he said at a
joint news conference in Jakarta with visiting British Prime Minister
David Cameron, who said Britain was standing ready to help if needed.

"The situation in Aceh is under control, there's a little bit of panic
but people can go to higher ground," Yudhoyono said.

Warning sirens rang out across the Thai island of Phuket, a tourist
hotspot that was one of the worst hit areas in the 2004 tsunami.

"Guests from expensive hotels overlooking Phuket's beaches were
evacuated to the hills behind and local people were driving away in cars
and on motorcycles. Everyone seemed quite calm, the warning had been
issued well in advance," freelance journalist Apichai Thonoy told
Reuters by telephone.

OUT ON THE STREETS

Indonesian television showed people gathering in mosques in Banda Aceh.
Many others were on the streets, holding crying children.

In the city of Medan, a hospital evacuated patients, who were wheeled
out on beds and in wheelchairs.

Yudhoyono said he had ordered a disaster relief team to fly to Aceh,
which was devastated by the 9.1 magnitude 2004 quake, which sent huge
tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed,
and across the Indian Ocean.

In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean
countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

Wednesday's quakes were felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok,
and in southern India, hundreds of office workers in the city of
Bangalore left their buildings while the port of Chennai closed down
because of tsunami fears.

The quakes were in roughly in the same area as the 2004 quake, which was
at a depth of 18 miles (30 km) along a fault line running under the
Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.

One expert told the BBC at least Wednesday's first quake was a
"strike-slip" fault, meaning a more horizontal shift of the ground under
the sea as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, and less risk of a large
displacement of water triggering a tsunami.

The quakes were also felt in Sri Lanka, where office workers in the
capital, Colombo, fled their offices.

Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka's minister for disaster management, called
for calm while advising people near the coast to seek safety.

"I urge the people not to panic. We have time if there is a tsunami
going to come. So please evacuate if you are in the coastal area and
move to safer places," Amaraweera told a private television channel.

In Bangladesh, where two tremors were felt, authorities said there
appeared to be no threat of a tsunami. Australia also said there was no
threat of a tsunami there.

(Reporting by Jakarta, Bangalore, Bangkok and Colombo bureaus; Writing
by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Robert Birsel)


http://groups.google.com/group/bible-prophecy-news/browse_thread/thread/18e5af5cc0194e29#

This is a huge sign...Read the url below:

Cluster of Large Earthquakes from Mexico to Indonesia Rattled the Globe on April 11, 2012!

Earthquake Resurrection...!

http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=3138553015&frmid=389&msgid=1220266&cmd=show

"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"

"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"