A strong earthquake measuring 7.1-magnitude according to Indonesia's meteorological agency has shaken western Indonesia.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami alert for Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Thailand. But this has been cancelled. The Indonesian agency said its epicentre was just off the coast of Sumatra. The US Geological Survey put the strength at 7.9.
The quake at 6.17pm Malaysian time triggered off tremors in Malaysia including KL and PJ. It has been reported that buildings have been damaged at Sumatra. The affected area is not far from Padang.
Earlier, a tsunami hit Samoa, the Pacific island, following an 8-magnitude earthquake, with the death toll on the rise, while floods hit Vietnam and claimed many lives in the wake of Typhoon Ketsana.
In KL and PJ, workers rushed out of their buildings while in some areas, shaken motorists parked their vehicles by the roadside. More details to come...
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7 comments:
Dear Wong,
This disaster is sad but not unexpected or strange.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus said the signs of the end of the age is,
" there will be earthquakes in various places..." Mark 13:8. (NIV Bible).
This is the Gospel truth.
The question is , are we prepared for the end times as prophesied in the bible ???
As the tectonic plates move, Indonesia and Malaysia will get compressed closer together. Mmmm too close for comfort! And Malaysia will get more tremors and maybe even earth quakes. But I would be long dead. But closer to our generation's life time, as the global temperature rises, and climates get more extreme, Malaysia shall experience typhoons and tornadoes as well. Malaysia is starting to get mini tornadoes that appear and die pretty quickly. But these mini tornadoes shall get stronger. Purt meteorologists will have to start earning their salaries and do some work soon, instead of giving us the standard "hujan di sanasini".
There are so many false prophets who keep telling us exactly when the world will end (or has already ended). But Jesus clearly said only the Father knows when. And the signs of the end will be very very clear. SO far it is not that clear, so let's not be the false prophets.
Indonesians have some pretty massive things they should be really worried about. Like the potential of massive earthquakes off Sumatra, and the potential of really massive tsunamis that could wipe off millions of Indonesians. Or the potential huge eruptions of some mighty volcanoes. And these are on top of the annual floods and what nots. But do you see Indonesia doing anything seriously about these? Oh no. They are more worried about Malaysians stealing the Negaraku, pendet, and batik from them. Now, before we laugh and scorn at them, we Malaysians seem to be like them too. We have problems of massive scale too. Like losing attraction as investment destinations, some very serious and pervasive corruptions in the public instutions, drug addiction, poverty, crime rates, racial and religious conflicts, etc. But do we spend time and efforts to eradicate the problems? Oh no, we are too busy worrying about beer sales, khalwat, temple locations, concerts, and other minor stuff. Aren't we like the Indonesians?
People never learn. Well, Malaysians never learn. And developers never learn. OK, house buyers never learn. The last big tsunami demonstrated very clearly that if your houses are only a few feet from the shore line, and only a few feet above the sea level, then after the next tsunami, your houses won't be there anymore. Now if you are poor and homeless, and you build a cheap wooden shack next to a panaromic beach front, I can understand. But you still see developers building expensive houses right next to the sea line. And you still have the rich suckers buying them. And I wonder why the town councils approve the construction in the first place. Well, I actually don't wonder on that....I can venture a guess (it's all about the money, baby). The tsunami in Samoa and the earthquakes off Padang should remind all the property owners with beach front houses to dispose of their property by looking for the next suckers to buy them.
With earthquake happen so frequently now, any kind of underground nuclear bomb testing should be ban immediately.
LISTEN AS EARTHQUAKES SPEAK
Remember that earthquakes
Are unexpected ground breaks
Just as the Bible so speaks
Don't take them lightly as mere freaks
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 021009
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Fri. 2nd Oct. 2009.
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