Tsunami alert after massive earthquake in Indonesia

A huge earthquake of 8.6 magnitude is being reported off the coast of Indonesia's northern Aceh province.

A tsunami has been generated, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre but the likely impact has yet to be calculated.

The Indian Ocean tsunami killed 170,000 in Aceh in 2004.

BBC report

Update 12.01: US Geological Survey reports 8.2 magnitude, 615 km (382 miles) SSW (211 degrees) of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia; 1061 km (659 miles) WSW (256 degrees) of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia




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Earthquake rocks India, Nepal and Tibet - dozens killed

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has struck north east India, Nepal and Tibet, with dozens killed and injured.

Three people were killed, including an 8-year-old, when a wall collapsed at the British embassy in Nepal.

The quake epicentre was in the Indian mountain state of Sikkim, where several people were killed.

BBC

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Earthquake jolts Japan - 6.8 magnitude off Fukushima

A strong earthquake - measuring about 6.8 - has been reported off Fukushima, Japan.

No damage has yet been reported.

REUTERS

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Goldfish survived NZ earthquake - found after 135 days in ruins of office in Christchurch

Two goldfish have been found alive in the ruins of an office building in Christchurch - 135 days after the earthquake that struck New Zealand in February.

They are thought to have survived by eating three other fish whose remains were not found.

SUN STORY

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Earthquake in English Channel - Worthing, West Sussex, shaken and stirred

An earthquake hit the English Channel yesterday, according to the British Geological Survey.

The quake, at magnitude 3.9, was the largest such event to shake the area since a magnitude 4.5 in 1734. It was located about 53 miles (85km) south east of Portsmouth, Hampshire, at a depth of about 6 miles (10km).

Several people in Worthing, West Sussex, reported the quake, which lasted only a few seconds.

Historically, the UK gets an earthquake of this magnitude about once every two years. A 3.6-magnitude quake struck 9km (5.5 miles) north-west of Ripon, North Yorkshire, in January this year.

BGS

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New Japan earthquake - tsunami alert triggered

An earthquake of about magnitude 7.1 has hit Japan - in the same area devastated by a quake four months ago - and triggered a tsunami alert.

Fortunately, it generated only a small wave of about 10cm.

The quake epicentre was near where the magnitude 9.0 quake hit and killed thousands of people on March 11.

BBC

USGS

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Shortage of Canon cameras - latest

Good article in the Wall Street Journal about Canon's problems after the Japanese earthquake.

The quake is forcing Canon to rethink its entire procurement strategy, says the WSJ

Before the quake, said Chief Financial Officer Toshizo Tanaka, "we believed that having a single supplier (for each component) made more sense for us,". But, he told the newspaper, the quake has proved that the company needs to look for multiple sources for some raw materials.

READ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE HERE

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Earthquake in Rome prediction leaves the Eternal City nervous

LATEST PICTURES OF ROME

Italians are apparently fleeing Rome because of a prediction in 1915 that the city would be hit by a giant earthquake today.

Local newspapers have even published survival guides and panic has been fuelled by the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

Raffaele Bendani, a seismologist, forecast that a "big one" would hit Rome - if, that is, you believe the interpretations. Before his death in 1979, he also predicted other earthquakes in Italy.

But that's not difficult, Italy is in an earthquake zone (I predict there will be an earthquake in California every day this week and rumblings in Alaska!).

However, although Rome has felt the ground shake throughout the centuries - the Colosseum was damaged in the years 443, 477, 508, and 1231 - it does not lie on a major fault line.

Says one expert: "You feel earthquakes in Rome sometimes, but they happen elsewhere; there aren't major fault lines underneath the city. So in terms of predicting a massive earthquake there, it's already a kind of unlikely place."

And, earthquakes are notoriously difficult to predict, even days ahead, let along decades.

Bendani was honoured by former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1927 and is highly respected in Rome. Despite TV programmes telling residents not to take the prediction seriously, it is expected that one in five people will not turn up for work today.

LATEST PICTURES OF ROME

ROME PICTURES ALAMY

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Nikon, Canon camera shortage update

Amateur Photographer magazine reports that Japanese factories cannot resume their normal supply chain until the autumn.

About 60 per cent of the country's industry hit by the March earthquake and tsunami resumed operations by April 25, according to a government report. But 30 per cent cannot restart until July and the recovery will be delayed.

REPORT

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