Earthquakes

A colossal earthquake begins to shake the northern part of Sumatra and the Andaman Sea to its north. Seven minutes later a stretch of the Indonesian subduction zone 1200 kilometers long had slipped by an average distance of 15 meters. A large tsunami triggered by the earthquake spread outward from off the Sumatran coast. The worst part of it washed away whole cities in Indonesia, but every country on the shore of the Indian Ocean was also affected. In Indonesia, some 240,000 people died from the quake and tsunami combined. About 47,000 more people died, from Thailand to Tanzania, when the tsunami struck without warning.

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hits in South Africa with its epicenter close to Johannesburg, South Africa. One person is reported to have died. The quake was felt as far a field as Durban, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.

A  6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan early Saturday morning. The quake was centered off of Honshu island and was 7 miles deep. A tsunami warning was issued but later changed to an advisory.

A 3.4-magnitude earthquake rumbles through northern California early in the morning. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter is five miles from American Canyon, seven miles from Sonoma and 50 miles from Sacramento. The temblor occurs at 1:56 a.m. Pacific time at a depth of 6.2 miles. There are no reports of damage so far, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said.