Thursday, May 29, 2008

Kundur's 7.1 Earthquake- 3 Dead, 54 Injured


A major earthquake measuring 7.1 Richter Scale jolted Kundur Island, Indonesia today at 9.57 am.

Kundur has roughly the size of Batam and lies south of Karimun.

A press release from the Indonesia Buro of Geophysics and Meteorology says that the epicentre was 0°47'45.82"N, 103°30'58.18"E, at a depth of 56 km, which is believed to be on the island of Kundur. The Buro does not have any officials on the island so has no further information.

Bambang Triharto, a local official in Pekanbaru, tells us that forty buildings collapsed, sixteen cows crushed, three people dead, 54 people injured.

"One of my staff happens to be on one of the nearby islands (Karimunbesar) and said some buildings have been damaged".

Kundur is a small island in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia's Sumatra island. It is part of the Karimun group of islands and is located south of Karimun Island. Tanjung Batu, the main town, has a busy waterfront and a couple of streets lined with shops.

"It's always hard to tell how bad these things are when they're this remote. I would be surprised if we don't hear of more casualties, " says Bambang Triharto.

However, Fauzi, the head of the agency's earthquake centre, claims that there were no reports of damage or casualties and the quake was unlikely to trigger a tsunami, given its depth.

Kundur is a popular hangout amongst Singapore's cycling enthusiasts. Singapore Cycling website describes Kundur Island as "the most beautiful island in the vicinity, and the most fun to cycle".

Many of Kundur's single track trails follow man made canals.

Kundur earthquake

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted the island of Kundur today at 9.57 am.

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