Jakarta: The earthquake that rattled Indonesia on August 5 is one of many deadly quakes to strike the vast archipelago nation since 2004. Here is a recap.
– 2004 –
On December 26 a massive earthquake measuring 9.1 on the open-ended Richter scale strikes off the coast of Sumatra and triggers a tsunami that kills 220,000 throughout the region, 168,000 in Indonesia alone. It is the world’s third biggest quake since 1900, and lifts the ocean floor in some places by 15 metres (50 feet). The province of Aceh is the hardest hit area, but the tsunami affects coasts as far away as Africa.
– 2005 –
On March 28 a quake measuring 8.6 strikes off the coast of Sumatra, killing around 900 people and injuring 6,000. It causes widespread destruction on the western island of Nias.
– 2006 –
On May 26 a 6.3-magnitude quake rocks a densely populated region of Java near the city of Yogyakarta, killing around 6,000 people and injuring 38,000. More than 420,000 are left homeless and some 157,000 houses are destroyed.
On July 17, an offshore earthquake measuring 7.7 triggers a tsunami that hits the southwestern coast of Java near the resort of Pangandaran, killing more than 600 people.
– 2009 –
On September 2 more than 100 people die when Java is hit by a 7.0-magnitude quake.
On September 30, a 7.6-magnitude quake hits Padang, a major port on the west coast of Sumatra, killing at least 1,100 people. Almost a half million others are left homeless and some 100,000 homes are destroyed.
– 2010 –
On October 25 more than 430 people die when a 7.8-magnitude quake and a tsunami hits the isolated region of Mentawai, off the coast of Sumatra. Several villages are destroyed by waves more than three metres high which extend up to 600 metres inland. Around 15,000 people are left homeless.
– 2016 –
On December 6 more than 100 people die after a 6.5-magnitude shallow quake strikes Aceh province. Many more people are injured, hundreds of houses and mosques are destroyed and some 84,000 people are left homeless.
Agence France-Presse