2009 Papua earthquakes
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The 2009 Papua earthquakes occurred on January 4 local time in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
's
West Papua province West Papua ( id, Papua Barat), formerly Irian Jaya Barat (West Irian), is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea, the eastern half of the Bird's Head Peninsula (or Doberai Peninsula) and the ...
. The very large
earthquake doublet __NOTOC__ In seismology, doublet earthquakes – and more generally, multiplet earthquakes – were originally identified as multiple earthquakes with nearly identical waveforms originating from the same Epicenter, location. They are now characteri ...
comprised a 7.6 initial shock that had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (''Strong'') and a second event measuring 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (''Very strong''). The events took place less than three hours apart to the east-northeast of
Sorong Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's ...
on the
Bird's Head Peninsula The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces o ...
and left at least four people dead and dozens injured. An official of
World Vision International World Vision International is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It prefers to present itself as interdenominational and also employs staff from non-evangelical Christian denominations. It was fo ...
, a humanitarian aid organization, said ten buildings had been destroyed, including several hotels and the house of a government official. Officials said three people, who had been staying at the Mutiara hotel in the city of
Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pro ...
, were pulled alive from the rubble and taken to a hospital. Two hotels collapsed in the quake. There have been twenty-three aftershocks above magnitude 5.0 and another at magnitude 6.0. The earthquakes were also felt in nearby
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
and Darwin,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.


See also

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List of earthquakes in 2009 Earthquakes in 2009 resulted in 1,853 fatalities. The 2nd Sumatra earthquake caused an estimated 1,117 deaths to that island, while other majors events struck Italy or Costa Rica. Also notable, the 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami registered a ...
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List of earthquakes in Indonesia __NOTOC__ This is an incomplete list of more recent recorded major earthquakes that have occurred within the boundaries of Indonesia. The determinants of the activity are indicated by the geology of the region, and the volcanic activity. Large nu ...


References


External links

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Earthquake in Papua, Indonesia
NASA Earth Observatory NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing outlet for NASA which was created in 1999. It is the principal source of satellite imagery and other scientific information pertaining to the climate and the Environment (biophysical), environment whi ...
* {{Earthquakes in Indonesia 2009 tsunamis Papua earthquake Papua (province) West Papua (province) Papua earthquake Earthquakes in Indonesia Tsunamis in Indonesia January 2009 events in Asia