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Strong quake hits Indian Ocean
- By News On Sunday
- Published 10/16/2009
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A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit a remote unpopulated area of the Indian Ocean early on Monday.
The quake was registered and reported by the US Government geological department.
It announced that there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The epicentre of the tremor, which occurred at 03.15 GMT, was located 1, 014 kilometres east northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius, said the US Geological Survey.
The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.
The news was taken over by the Mauritius local television and in an interview given to the MBC/Tv, the Director of the Mauritius Meteorological Services, Suresh Bhoodoo said that such quakes take place every month in the Indian
Ocean region and that it did not represent a real danger for Mauritius as far as the arrival of a tsunami is concerned.
“ Some say that the meteorological station should have informed the population on the quake. I should say that after I was informed that the 'Tidegraph' placed in Rodrigues did not register any abnormal swells, I was assured of no danger for anybody, fishermen, ships or coastal dwellers and thus decided not to communicate the event so as not to create a panicky environment, the event happening early in the morning, “ Suresh Bhoodoo said.
On the next day, Wednesday, October 14 a Tsunami evacuation plan exercise was implemented by the US Government. The exercise, put in place, following the December 2004 giant Tsunami in Indonesia, started in Aceh,with the participation of 18 countries including Mauritius. The Tsunami was followed from Aceh, Indonesia to South Africa for nearly 12 hours.
The quake was registered and reported by the US Government geological department.
It announced that there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The epicentre of the tremor, which occurred at 03.15 GMT, was located 1, 014 kilometres east northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius, said the US Geological Survey.
The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.
The news was taken over by the Mauritius local television and in an interview given to the MBC/Tv, the Director of the Mauritius Meteorological Services, Suresh Bhoodoo said that such quakes take place every month in the Indian
“ Some say that the meteorological station should have informed the population on the quake. I should say that after I was informed that the 'Tidegraph' placed in Rodrigues did not register any abnormal swells, I was assured of no danger for anybody, fishermen, ships or coastal dwellers and thus decided not to communicate the event so as not to create a panicky environment, the event happening early in the morning, “ Suresh Bhoodoo said.
On the next day, Wednesday, October 14 a Tsunami evacuation plan exercise was implemented by the US Government. The exercise, put in place, following the December 2004 giant Tsunami in Indonesia, started in Aceh,with the participation of 18 countries including Mauritius. The Tsunami was followed from Aceh, Indonesia to South Africa for nearly 12 hours.
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