Earthquake affecting Indonesia
At 23:28 local time on June 4, 2000 southern
Sumatra
,
Indonesia
was struck by an earthquake of
moment magnitude
7.9 with a maximum
Mercalli intensity
of VI (
Strong
). The event occurred off the coast near
Enggano Island
. There were more than 100 fatalities and up to 2,585 injuries. Over 730
aftershocks
shook the area afterwards, one just eleven minutes after the mainshock.
This was the first and southernmost in a series of very large to great Sumatran earthquakes in the 2000s to rupture almost the entire western part of the
Sunda megathrust
, most notably including the 9.2?9.3
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
, but also the 8.6
2005 Nias?Simeulue earthquake
, and the 7.9?8.4
September 2007 Sumatra earthquakes
.
Background and tectonics
[
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]
Indonesia is well known for strong earthquakes: the 2000 Enggano event marked the beginning of an ongoing period of seismic activity in the area, highlighted by the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
. The 2000 Enggano earthquake took place at the southeastern end of the fault segment that ruptured during the
1833 Sumatra earthquake
. This group of earthquakes, in addition to the
2005 Nias?Simeulue earthquake
, all ruptured along the megathrust that forms the interface between the
Australian
and
Sunda Plates
.
[6]
This event was the only one not to cause a
tsunami
.
Earthquake
[
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]
The earthquake involved the rupture of two different faults with different mechanisms. The first subevent ruptured a north?south
striking
fault within the Australian Plate with a left lateral strike-slip mechanism. The earthquake rupture propagated northwards until it reached the megathrust, triggering the second subevent along the Sunda megathrust itself. The strike-slip rupture probably represents slip on a pre-existing
fracture zone
, similar to the likely cause of the M 7.9 earthquake that struck about 1,000 km to the south on 18 June 2000 with a similar mechanism.
[2]
Damage and casualties
[
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]
At least 46 people were killed, 940 were injured and 1,008 affected houses were reported in the
Bengkulu
area. Thirty-nine deaths, 1,245 injuries and 90 percent of houses were destroyed on
Enggano Island
.
[7]
In the village worst struck, several hundred structures were reported in ruins.
[8]
[9]
An aftershock measuring 6.2 struck on June 7.
[10]
Aftermath and response
[
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]
International relief teams arrived in the region within several days.
[11]
Relief efforts were impeded by fallen telephone poles, which blocked the supplies.
[8]
The main problem found in the affected areas was a lack of water supply and electricity, these facilities having been cut off by oscillation.
[8]
Pope
John Paul II
expressed his "sincere sympathy" for those families stricken by the earthquake.
[12]
He called for a rapid international response to the quake, and said he would keep its victims in his prayers.
[12]
A
Taiwanese
rescue team was sent to help victims of the tremor, the first country to take part in rescue efforts from Asia. The United States donated
US$
25,000 instantly to relief organizations, Japan offering a grant of US$140,000 and Australia US$143,000 in addition to a two-person team of emergency relief examiners.
[13]
Wharton Basin event
[
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]
Two weeks later on June 18, another magnitude 7.9 event occurred about 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) to the southwest in the
Wharton Basin
. At the time, it was the largest
intraplate earthquake
in the Indian Ocean until the
2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes
.
[2]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
ISC (2014).
ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900?2009)
. Version 1.05.
International Seismological Centre
.
- ^
a
b
c
Abercrombie, R. E.; Antolik, M.; Ekstrom, G. (2003).
"The June 2000 Mw 7.9 earthquakes south of Sumatra: Deformation in the India?Australia Plate"
.
Journal of Geophysical Research
.
108
(B1): ESE 6?1.
Bibcode
:
2003JGRB..108.2018A
.
doi
:
10.1029/2001JB000674
.
- ^
USGS.
"M7.9 - southern Sumatra, Indonesia"
.
United States Geological Survey
.
- ^
USGS.
"M6.7 - southern Sumatra, Indonesia"
.
United States Geological Survey
.
- ^
Sieh, K.
"The Sunda megathrust: past, present and future"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
2009-11-04
.
- ^
OCHA (9 June 2000).
"Indonesia - Earthquake OCHA Situation Report No. 4"
.
ReliefWeb
. Retrieved
14 May
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Indonesia appeals for help following Sumatran earthquake"
. RTE News. June 5, 2000.
- ^
Tim Radford (July 6, 2000).
"Just an everyday disaster"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
June 4,
2009
.
- ^
"Photo Essay 6/8/2000 - Earthquake in Indonesia"
.
Time Magazine
. 2000-06-08. Archived from
the original
on August 15, 2000
. Retrieved
2008-07-29
.
- ^
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2000),
UNDAC Team Mission Report Bengkulu Earthquake, Sumatra, Indonesia 6?16 Jun 2000
,
ReliefWeb
- ^
a
b
"Pope Comforts Indonesian Quake Victims".
Catholic World News
. 2000-06-06.
- ^
Catherine Sung (June 8, 2000).
"Rescue team on the way"
. Taipei Times
. Retrieved
June 4,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
"M 7.9 - South Indian Ocean"
.
United States Geological Survey
.
- ^
"USGS earthquake catalog"
.
United States Geological Survey
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Milsom, J.; Abercrombie, R. E. (2003).
The June 2000 Enggano earthquake, South Sumatra, and the role of the Mentawai Fault
. EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6?11 April 2003.
Egs - AGU - Eug Joint Assembly
. p. 9923.
Bibcode
:
2003EAEJA.....9923M
.
External links
[
edit
]
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†
indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡
indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year
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