Earthquake Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia becomes the second deadliest earthquake of 2013 (42 people killed and 6 remain missing)

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Update July 11
BNPB said the total death toll from the two districts there are as many as 42 people. 6 still missing.
4,617 people were treated for different kind of injuries.

Update July 10 . 07:05 UTC:
The number of fatalities was lowered to 39 (+ 6 missing) as a victim in Serampah has been counted two times.
In the meantime, the number of displaced people increased to more than 50.000.

Update July 7 - 07:46 UTC
Today, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has released his latest data on the Aceh earthquake. 40 fatalities and 6 still missing (buried by landslides), 63 people are still hospitalized, 2,362 people have been ambulatory treated for all kind of injuries, 22,125 people cannot live in their houses anymore and have received temporary shelter from the authorities.
15,919 houses have been damaged to different extend, 623 public buildings (schools, houses of prayer, mosques, etc) have been damaged as well.

Prayers at a mosque in Indonesia (archive photo courtesy acicis.murdoch.edu.au)

Central Aceh district
1. Wardiman (17) Blang Mancung
2. Tasliyah (17) Blang Mancung
3. Fadhila Arizal (4) Blang Mancung
4. Jihan Firdaus (5) Blang Mancung
5. Karsiem (55) Blang Mancung
6. Leo Yuda (14) Blang Mancung
7. Rahmayanti (4) Blang Mancung
8. Dani (9) Blang Mancung
9. Dodi Rahmadhan (13) Kampung Rajawali
10. Sifa (2) Kampung Rajawali
11. Rukoyah (35) Kampung Rajawali
12. Charisma (35) Serampah
13. Rahmat Diko (2) Serampah
14. Rahmat Diko (2) Serampah
15. Ani (30) Serampah
16. Fadli (6) Bah
17. Zainuddin (12) Bah
18. Rian (9) Bah
19. Isahdan (9) Bah
20. Sahara (7) Bah
21. Rizki (4) Bah
22. Anwar (35) Segene Balik
23. Arifin (30) Seget Balik
24. Yuni (27) ala Ketol
25. Icha, Changduri
26. Vera Angraini (2) Pantan Jerik
27. Raimah (65) Telege Atu
28. Sabardi (12) Genting Gerbang
29. Rakayah (52) Aceh Tengah
30. Fatimah (22) SP Lukup Badak
31. Raiah (25) Arul Relem
32. Lisnawati eyebrows Lilis (7) Serempah

Bener Meriah district
1. Fatimah (80) Suka Ramai Atas
2. Tarmizi (60) Suka Ramai Atas
3. Supardi (53) Suka Makmur
4. Larni (45) Suka Makmur
5. Ilham, Suka Makmur Induk
6. Pian (13) Suka Makmur Induk
7. Aryana (8 months) Cekal
8. Mahyani (20) Kampung Benar Ayu

Ketol district :
1. Thanks to (50) Serempah
2. Khairul (11) Serempah
3. Sabri (23) Serempah
4. M.Jali (40) Serempah
5. Ali Hasimi (9) Serempah
6. Favors (35) Serempah

Cruel landslides triggered by the earthquake - Image courtesy and copyright Tribunnews.Com

Update July 6 - 11:06 UTC
The death toll further increased to 36 with a remaining 8 missing. The missing have been killed too as people know that they are buried in a landslide triggered by the earthquake. Rescue services are still trying to dig the corpses out, but may decide not the continue anymore and grant them a grave in the landslide itself. The final death toll will accordingly jump to 44 people, one of the deadliest earthquakes so far this year.

Update July 5 - 07:06 UTC (Reliefweb) :
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) staff in Indonesia report that the earthquake damaged nearly 4,300 houses and nearly 80 public facilities (including health centers, schools, mosques and village offices) in Bener Meriah and Central Aceh. Nearly all damaged houses are inhabitable. Despite infrastructure damage, the majority of shops and markets are open for business, allowing affected populations to purchase needed items. The earthquake resulted in displacement of people from their houses due to strucutral damage, as well as fear of additional quakes. An estimated 6,500 people are displaced and reside in approximately 60 displacement sites in Bener Meriah and Central Aceh, according to the Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency.

As of July 5, many landslides blocking roads and access to affected populations had been cleared, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). However, eight villages in earthquake-affected areas remain isolated due to blocked access roads, LWR staff report. Rescue workers continue to clear roads to reach an estimated 5,000 people who are isolated and require assistance.

Update July 5 - 07:06 UTC :
- 35 people have been killed
- 8 people are still missing
- 275 have been injured
- 4,292 houses have been damaged to differnt extend
- 83 public facility buildings have been damaged
- BNPB press release earlier today : The government will help people whose homes were damaged. BNPB is still registering all the inflicted damage. Many people have to stay temporarely in tents as their houses are unsafe to live in.
Isolated areas blocked earlier by road landslides have been successfully accessed in the meanwhile = people affected by the earthquake have been supported.

Update July 4 - 07:24 UTC : Sad news from BNPB Indonesia (relief and rescue service). 30 people are now reported as being kikked in the earthquake. 12 are still missing and we have to be prepared for bad news about these as it is already 3 days after the earthquake struck. These are official numbers.

Update July 3 - 12:29 UTC : The fatality numbers are now ranging from 24 (official) up to 41 (officious).

Update July 3 - 10:44 UTC : The seismogram below is showing a relatively calm period (at least for several hours). The GEOFON seismograph is installed in Lhokseumave, not very far away at the northern coast (Malaysia side). Minor aftershocks are almost impossible to see on this seismogram.

Seismograpg image installed at Lhokseumave - image courtesy and copyright Geofon, Germany

Update July 3 - 09:23 UTC : Officially there are 22 people reported as dead and at least 210 injured. The numbers are varying depending on the source.
- The havoc in the epicenter area is very big as many houses have collapsed and many more damaged. Since 2 strong aftershocks have damaged the area even more, people are choosing for the safe side and do not enter their damaged houses anymore (to high risk that they may collapse with the following major aftershock).
- Local organizations have started a relief bank account number to support the most hit families
- Authorities have taken charge of managing the relied and aid efforts
- Via twitter and other social networks people, are sending their prayers to those who lost family members
- SAR (Search and Rescue) efforts are continuing until every village / house is inspected.
- Landslides are a major additional damage factor as they are not only killing and injuring people but also block roads and hamper that way rescue and relief efforts
- A lot of volunteers from other parts in Sumatra are currently helping in relief work.

Image courtesy and copyright kaskus.co.id

Update 23:13 UTC : No new numbers of damage, injuries and fatalities so far. The situation will be clearing during the following 8 hours when SAR teams can go to the hit villages during daylight. The image neblow shows the kind of damage inflicted.

Image courtesy and copyright Serambinews.com

Update 17:48 UTC : the death toll has further increased to 25 people, sad, very sad ... Earthquake-Report.com thoughts are with the family of the deceased.

Update 17:07 UTC : Official BNPB is still mentioning 5 dead, 2 missing and 70 injured.

Update 16:23 UTC : We are able to follow the aftershocks almost when they occur as we see each time an increasing number of people coming online on Sumatra.

Update 15:59 UTC : A new M5.2 aftershock struck the epicenter area. Even in the open air, people are not fully protected against the danger of aftershocks triggering more landslides.

Update 15:50 UTC : Local suaramerdeka.com reports that the number of fatalities has increased to 20 , +100 injured. These are not final numbers and we expect them to hike until tomorrow morning UTC (currently night in Indonesia)

We are truly IRRITATED that the world press seems to focus only on wars and hardly reports about the misery of this earthquake. Roads are blocked, people are still under the rubble, etc. This is an important human tragedy and the only thing the world is doing is looking the other side !

Update 15:19 UTC : A mosque has collapsed due to the strong aftershock. Local (to be confirmed) reports are mentioning tens of people still under the rubble. Roads to the epicenter area are mostly not usable because of fissures and landslides, so relief and rescue teams from BNPB have a hard time to reach many villages and to send relief goods.

This is a major damaging earthquake ! We hope that the authorities will get to all damaged villages and provide help soon.

Update 15:01 UTC : Todays earthquake happened along the extremely dangerous Great Sumatra Fault. The Indonesian island of Sumatra is located in a highly seismic area of the world. In addition to the subduction zone and the associated Sunda Arc off the west coast of the island, Sumatra also has a large strike-slip fault, the so-called Great Sumatran Fault, running the entire length of the island. This fault zone accommodates most of the strike-slip motion associated with the oblique convergence between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates. The fault ends in the north just below the city of Banda Aceh, which was devastated in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. After the December 2004 earthquake, pressure on the Great Sumatran Fault has increased tremendously, especially in the north.
The blue line below is the mentioned Great Sumatra Fault. Earthquakes are mostly occurring in a range of tens of kilometers at either side of the fault. Below the Focal Mechanism which corresponds fully to the fault line specifics.

Update 14:26 UTC : The image below shows a very strong extremely shallow aftershock measured as M5.3. This aftershock will be further damaging the epicenter area. Very bad news for the area as this aftershock occurred in the dark. Most of the people will be on the streets now, so lets hope that there will be no additional fatalities.

Seismogram courtesy Geofon seismograph network Indonesia

Update 14:20 UTC : It is 23:20 local time now in Indonesia, a bad time for rescue and relief as in some areas there will be no electricity.

Update 14:16 UTC : The picture gets grimmer and grimmer as expected by ER at the start of this article. Besides the 13:52 UTC update, who was written for Bener Meriah alone, the greater area now reports hundreds of injured people (most f them slight injuries) which are mostly treated in "open air" out of fear for aftershocks.

Update 14:06 UTC : Due to the fatalities, the status of this earthquake has increased to CATDAT Red.

Important update 13:52 UTC : Kompas.com, a regional Indonesian newspaper wrote a little earlier :
Five people were killed and 25 others suffered injuries (some serious) because of landslides and collapsed buildings in the epicenter area. Meanwhile, rescue workers continue to evacuate and inspect every house in Bener Meriah. The injured are now being treated at the General Hospital of Bener Meriah. BNBP is now focusing on the injured and in finding a place to stay overnight (night has fallen in Indonesia) for residents whose homes were damaged and collapsed.
Bener Meriah regency government is also preparing aid for victims affected by the earthquake. The area worst hit was the Timang Gajah district (Central highlands).

Update 12:06 UTC : The number of injured has increased to 50 according to a doctor in the Lampahan hospital. The mainstream press in Indonesia has not confirmed any fatalities as yet. We keep therefor are CATDAT status to orange.

Update 12:02 UTC : Reader Tarika attracted our attention to a neaby historically active volcano, Geureudong
Geureudong or Bur ni Geureudong or Bur ni Telong is a stratovolcanic complex in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The official name of the whole complex is confusing between the two adjacent volcanoes: Bur ni Geureudong and Bur ni Telong. Two other volcanic cones are Salah Nama and Pepanji, and there are small sediment hills. Bur ni Geureudong has been eroded since the Pleistocene age, but has solfatara and hot springs on its flanks. Bur ni Telong is located in the south of Bur ni Geureudong. Bur ni Telong has active crater that lava flows are exposed in the southern flank. (source Wikipedia).

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Update 10:59 UTC : Atjehpost.com reports that Khairul Asmara, regent of the district, said : "I heard from our people in the village Bah, there was a little boy who died due to the earthquake"

Update 10:26 UTC : The red colored area on the map shows the district where the earthquake occurred. Wounded and damage have been reported from this district.

Update 10:26 UTC : Indonesian BNBP reports : The earthquake was felt very strong for about 15 seconds by the people in the district.
People panicked and scrambled out of the house. Based on the quake map, around the District. According to a BPBDs intermediate report, , victims of the 6.2 magnitude quake there were 5 people were injured and taken to hospital, and 10 houses damaged in Benermeriah. BNPB BPBDs and still continue to monitor developments.

Image courtesy and copyright@threefmaceh

Update 10:19 UTC : We have removed the 2 fatalities from the title (reported by the well informed local @Discover_Aceh) are confirmed by other mainstream sources.

Update 10:13 UTC : roads in the epicentral area are buried with landslides which will make efforts to reach small settlements very difficult.

Update 10:07 UTC : BNPB Indonesia (sort of local Civil Defense for relief and rescue tasks) has now reported that 98000 people will have felt a strong shaking. No very strong shaking based on their (BMKG) theoretical plans. Medan, a city with 1.7 million inhabitants ! has experienced a weak MMI III shaking. Meulaboh and Lhokseumave both a light MMI IV shaking. The MMI values we received from our readers in our back-office are a little stronger.

Update 10:03 UTC : This earthquake occurred luckily in a relatively sparsely populated area of the island. If close to a major city, the damage would be very huge.

Update 09:52 UTC : Many readers will ask themselves, why so many I Have Felt It reports from Penang, Malaysia. If you look at the map below, you will see that the closest densely populated areas are exactly located in Malaysia.

Update 09:40 UTC : As what happens all the time and everywhere in the world after major earthquakes, the telecommunications network was badly congested are simply lost. Main reason, PEOPLE MAKE TOO MUCH CALLS. Networks should ONLY allow text and internet after such an earthquake. Voice is taking simply too much bandwidth and has to be reserved for security, relief and rescue services ONLY.

Update 09:33 UTC : If you are Indonesian/Malaysian who want help us gathering information on Indonesian earthquakes, please leave us a comment message below or contact us here

Image courtesy @ircboy

Update 09:29 UTC : The second floor of an hospital in the area has collapsed. No news there of any victims. We are bringing news as it reaches us.

Update 09:26 UTC : Local Vivanews reports : Dozens of people reportedly also become victims of collapsed buildings and landslides. The worst damage occurred in the village Lampahan, District Timang Elephants, Bener Meriah. Five houses have been buried by a landslide. The number of injured is expected to grow.

Update 09:17 UTC : Very close to the epicenter is a rather big lake, Lake Laut Tawar , lets hope that a seiche was not generated (big wave) as there are a lot of villages on the lake shores.

Update 09:11 UTC : The so far reported 2 fatalities are a) a baby less than 1 year old and 1 adult (Lampahan)

Update 09:11 UTC : USGS Pager map maintains his 65% probability that NO fatalities will happen. The real facts will probably be grimmer. USGS is currently recalculating all the different data of this earthquake. Needless to say, that there was NEVER any tsunamu-i risk as the epicenter was in the middle of Sumatra.

Update 09:00 UTC : A lot of direct epicenter information is not yet at hand as the communications are either lost or very difficult.

Typical damage after long lasted strong to very strong shaking

Update 09:00 UTC : The number of injured currently being treated in hospitals in Lampahan has increased to 16.

Update 08:56 UTC : A ER reader living in Lhoksumaveu, Sumatra reports " shaking more than 2 minutes! and it's strong.....". This means mostly MAJOR damage if true, what we expect to be true. The longer the shaking goes on, the more damage is generated.

Update 08:52 UTC : Below the impressive seismogram of the Geofon seismograph at Lhokseumave, Northern Sumatra or in other words relatively close to the epicenter. Notice also the many aftershocks after the mainshock.

Update 08:51 UTC : The earthquake was felt in Malaysia , Singapore and Thailand. Many many tourists will have (again) experienced an major earthquake, most of them fully unprepared !

Update 08:47 UTC : The first fatalities are being reported. At least 2 at Lampehan.

Update 08:35 UTC : Important : the picture below shows the landscape in the background. The area has got a lot of severe weather and this earthquake will certainly generate a lot of (hopefully not deadly) landslides

Update 08:28 UTC : More local reports are telling us that many houses were cracked and a lot collapsed. If this kind of information reaches us soon after the earthquake, the picture is mostly grim. Reports also from injured people.

Image courtesy and copyright @Discover_Aceh

Update 08:17 UTC : USGS expects based on thei theoretical models that 26000 people have experienced a very strong shaking. Very strong shaking is mostly synonym with heavy damage possible. This earthquake is currently at CATDAT ORANGE level, but we fear for a CATDAT red (fatalities) in the following hours.

Update 08:15 UTC : People of Sumatra are talking about many many aftershocks at the moment + more landslides being reported

Update 08:09 UTC : As what can be expected in Indonesia after these kind of strong earthquakes, dangerous landslides are being reported.

People are gathering in the middle of the street after the earthquake - twitter image courtesy @Discover_Aceh

Update 08:09 UTC : First reports in the local press are talking about many damaged houses, something we understand completely based on the preliminary shallow hypocenter data

Update 08:03 UTC : the earthquake was also felt in Aceh Tamiang, Pidie, Lhokseumawe, East Aceh, Langsa, Aceh Barat Daya

Update 08:00 UTC : Some agencies are reporting a depth of 10 km, but this is a value we consider as "we don't know it yet".

Update 07:59 UTC : A strong to very strong shaking in a radius of 30 km around the epicenter is expected by the local seismological agencies.

When you are one of the people who felt the shaking of this earthquake, please fill in the form behind "I Felt A (not Listed) Earthquake" on top of the list. Thank you.

The first reports are talking about an extremely shallow earthquake which makes this earthquake EXTREMELY dangerous

605 km W of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / pop: 1,453,975 / local time: 15:37:02.0 2013-07-02
154 km SE of Banda Aceh, Indonesia / pop: 250,757 / local time: 14:37:02.0 2013-07-02
52 km SW of Bireun, Indonesia / pop: 25,793 / local time: 14:37:02.0 2013-07-02

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