Palembang earthquakes 8.0 and 7.8 trigger tsunami alert

130,000 people killed in Indonesia tsunami of 2004

Palembang, Indonesia - Two huge earthquakes near Palembang, Indonesia have triggered a tsunami warning for the area and surrounding countries.

Two huge earthquakes in Palembang, Indonesis have triggered a tsunami warning for the area and surrounding countries.

Two strong earthquakes -- one 8.0 followed another 7.9 in magnitude -- struck in rapid succession Wednesday near southern Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the entire region.

Both quakes struck Indonesia's Sumatra Island.

The tremors caused buildings in the capital, Jakarta, to sway, and some offices were evacuated, reports say. There are no reports of damage or casualties.

A massive undersea earthquake sparked a tsunami that killed more than 130,000 people in Indonesia in December 2004.

Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Basin's "Ring of Fire" - an arc of volcanos and fault lines, is prone to seismic upheaval.

From the US Geological Survey website:

Magnitude 7.9
Date-Time Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:10:24 UTC
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 06:10:24 PM at epicenter
Location 4.369°S, 101.557°E
Depth 15.6 km (9.7 miles) (poorly constrained)
Region SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Distances 105 km (65 miles) SW of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
385 km (240 miles) SW of Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia
385 km (240 miles) WSW of Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia
605 km (375 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 17.6 km (10.9 miles); depth +/- 61.7 km (38.3 miles)
Parameters Nst= 30, Nph= 30, Dmin=811.7 km, Rmss=0.92 sec, Gp=115°,
M-type=body magnitude (Mb), Version=6
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2007hear