A strong magnitude 6.0 earthquake yesterday struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra, US seismologists said, just days after a tremor on the vast island killed dozens and left thousands homeless.
No tsunami warning was issued and there were no reports of damage after the quake struck at a shallow depth of 23km off the southwest coast of the vast island, the US Geological Survey said.
US seismologists initially said it was a magnitude 6.4 quake, then revised it down to a 6.0 quake. The epicenter was close to the remote archipelago of Mentawai.
Photo: AFP
In 2010, a magnitude 7.7 quake triggered a tsunami that left more than 400 people dead on the island chain.
Suharjono, an official from the local meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency who goes by one name, said yesterday’s quake was unlikely to have caused damage and there was no threat of a tsunami.
“Judging from the quake’s magnitude and the distance from the epicenter to the land, I don’t think the quake will have a significant impact,” he said.
“There’s little potential to cause damage,” the official said, adding that it was felt mildly by people in two provinces on Sumatra.
Hardimansyah Maitam, a local maritime patrol officer, said residents in Sikakap Town on North Pagai, an island in the Mentawai chain, poured into the streets and ran to higher ground when the quake struck.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami alert.
The quake came after a magnitude 6.1 inland tremor on Tuesday struck Aceh, on Sumatra’s northern tip, flattening buildings and sparking landslides in the mountainous interior of the natural disaster-prone province.
So far 35 people have been confirmed dead from Tuesday’s quake and about 16,000 left homeless, the national disaster agency said.
In 2004, a quake-triggered tsunami left more than 170,000 people dead in Aceh, as well as tens of thousands more in countries around the Indian Ocean. Indonesia, like Taiwan, sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
DEEPFAKE: Using AI to change their face and voice, a fraudster convinced a businessman that they were his friend and needed 4.3 million yuan for a public tender A scammer in China used artificial intelligence (AI) to pose as a businessman’s trusted friend and convince him to hand over millions of yuan, authorities have said. The victim, surnamed Guo, received a video call last month from a person who looked and sounded like a close friend. However, the caller was actually a con artist “using smart AI technology to change their face” and voice, said an article published on Monday by a media portal associated with the government in Fuzhou City. The scammer was “masquerading as [Guo’s] good friend and perpetrating fraud,” the article said. Guo was persuaded to transfer 4.3
Pins hidden in her shoes, head forced down a toilet, kicked in the stomach: South Korean hairdresser Pyo Ye-rim suffered a litany of abuse from school bullies, but now she is speaking out. The 26-year-old is part of a phenomenon sweeping South Korea known as “Hakpok #MeToo,” where people who were bullied publicly name and shame the perpetrators of school violence — “hakpok” in Korean — decades after the alleged crimes. Made famous globally by Netflix’s gory revenge series The Glory, the movement has ensnared everyone from K-pop stars to baseball players and accusations — often anonymous — can be career-ending, with
A Malaysian comedian better known for mocking attempts by Western chefs at Asian cooking has had his Chinese social media account suspended after making jokes about China. Nigel Ng (黃瑾瑜), who uses the name Uncle Roger, is the latest comedian to feel the consequences of jokes that could be perceived as reflecting negatively on China under increasingly intense censorship and rising nationalism. Last week, a Chinese comedian came under police investigation for a joke about stray dogs. Ng on Thursday posted a video clip from an upcoming comedy special in which he pokes fun at Chinese surveillance and Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over
TIME TO TALK: Among China’s grievances were economic and trade issues related to Taiwan, but both countries emphasized the need to maintain communication US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) on Friday raised complaints about China’s state-led economic policies during a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (王文濤), who objected to US tariffs and trade policies, as well as issues related to Taiwan, their offices said. However, statements from the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce emphasized the need for Washington and Beijing to maintain communication on trade. “Ambassador Tai highlighted the need to address the critical imbalances caused by China’s state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade policy,” the USTR said in a statement released after the
RSS