Indonesia Quake Triggers Brief Tsunami Warning

Chain is really, very sorry about ill-thought-out Facebook post

(AP) - In hindsight, maybe it wasn't so smart to suggest that yesterday's massive earthquake was finger-lickin' good: KFC Thailand has issued an apology after being criticized for a Facebook message that urged people to rush home during yesterday's tsunami scare and order a bucket of KFC chicken. As people were being urged to evacuate from beach areas, the company posted this dubious message: "Let's hurry home and follow the earthquake news. And don't forget to order your favorite KFC menu." More»

Disaster officials relieved no tsunami struck

(NEWSER) - Indonesian disaster officials are relieved that more did not die in yesterday's two big earthquakes , which did not trigger a tsunami. The five deaths are being blamed on heart attacks and shock, the BBC reports, and only a handful of people were hurt. After an earthquake in the same province, Aceh, triggered a tsunami in 2004, 70,000 were killed. The difference? In 2004, one tectonic plate slipped underneath another, whereas yesterday the plates rubbed against each other along their sides, scientists explain, so far less water was displaced. More»

Eerie echoes of quake that sparked 2004 Aceh tsunami horror

(NEWSER) - Indonesia has responded to a powerful 8.6-magnitude earthquake that struck beneath the ocean floor off the westernmost province of Aceh by issuing a tsunami warning for the entire Indian Ocean. And while it ultimately spawned a wave just 30 inches high that caused no serious damage, there's no rest yet for the earthquake-weary country. A hefty 8.2-magnitude aftershock hit about two hours later, reports the AP . That shaker was centered some 380 miles from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, about 100 miles further than the first. More»

6.1 quake jolts Indonesian resort island

(NEWSER) - At least 50 people were injured when a powerful earthquake shook Bali this morning. The 6.1 quake caused widespread panic on the Indonesian resort island, and witnesses say the roofs of some homes collapsed, AP reports. The quake, centered 60 miles southwest of the island, was not strong enough to trigger a tsunami, but it was felt on islands hundreds of miles away. It hit the day after the island marked the anniversary of the terrorist bombings that killed 202 people nine years ago. More»

(AP) - A volatile volcano in central Indonesia unleashed its most powerful eruption yet today, spewing hot ash and smoke thousands of feet into the air and sending panicked villagers racing back to emergency shelters. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Mount Lokon, located on northern Sulawesi island, has been dormant for years but rumbled back to life late last week. Surono, a government volcanologist who uses only one name, said today's 10:35am eruption released the greatest amount of energy so far, shooting soot and debris 11,400 feet into the sky. More»