Indonesian Earthquake Kills 2, Damages Homes
November 17, 2008 |17:49 | Earthquake By : Team X
The 7.5 magnitude quake struck off the northern coast of Sulawesi island in the early hours of Monday morning awakening frightened residents, many who ran into the streets. The U.S. Geological Survey said the offshore quake's epicenter was around 135 kilometers from the provincial capital of Gorontalo with a depth of about 21 kilometers beneath the sea.
Setiono, an official with Indonesia's Geological and Meteorological Center said the center monitored the earthquake at a magnitude of 7.7. He says people in the Gorontalo district reported at least one school building had collapsed and dozens of homes were completely destroyed.
Indonesia issued a tsunami warning following the quake but later lifted it after the threat had passed.Setiono said the center had, so far, recorded 17 after shocks. He says two of the aftershocks were strong, one measuring 6.0 while the other had a magnitude of 5.7 . Setiono says the center will continue to monitor the affected areas.

GNS Science recorded the quake at 5.2 on the Richter scale, centred 10km south of the city at a focal depth of 160km.GNS data shows the quake, which struck at 3.14am, was likely to have been felt as far south as Wellington, but police in Rotorua say they were unaware of the earthquake and have had no reports of damage or incidents.
Two men were injured on Monday when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit a mining area in the Haixi Mongolian and Tibet autonomous prefecture of Qinghai province, the local government said on its website.
A large earthquake has struck off the coast of Vanuatu. The quake occurred around 8:19pm (6:19pm local time) and had a depth of 35 kilometres.
The International Committee of the Red Cross `ICRC` Sunday launched an appeal of 7.8 million dollars for the affected people of Pakistan`s southwest.Officials say that death toll from the October 29th earthquake has crossed the figure in Balochistan.But the ICRC in an appeal through internet said that at least 200 people were killed in the earthquake.
Rescue efforts continue in southwest Pakistan, where the official death toll from Wednesday's magnitude 6.4 earthquake reached 215. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad that providing shelter for homeless families is now a top priority.










