Sumatra Poised for Another Tsunami, Study Says

[Dover]

Sumatra Poised for Another Tsunami, Study Says

June 8, 2005

The earthquake- and tsunami-battered region of Sumatra, Indonesia, is at risk for more temblors and killer waves, seismologists cautioned today in a new study.

Study co-author John McCloskey, a seismologist at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, said the finding adds urgency to the push for greater earthquake and tsunami preparedness in the Indian Ocean region.


"We should assume it will happen in the near future and do as much as quickly as we can," he said. "For governments to take their eye off the ball of preparedness would be irresponsible."

The seismologists calculated the stress changes induced by the March 28 earthquake—the second giant quake within three months along the Sunda trench west of Sumatra. Their findings are reported in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature.

The calculations suggest the region of the Sunda trench that is beneath the Mentawai islands is now at the greatest risk of rupture. This section is south of the epicenters of the December 26, 2004, and March 28 earthquakes that rattled the region....cont'd

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0608_050608_sumatra.html