Wednesday 30 September 2009

Deadly tsunami hits Samoan islands




(aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific)


Scores of people have been reported killed in the Samoan islands after a powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami in the Pacific ocean.

The extent of the damage is still unclear but 22 people are confirmed dead in American Samoa and 14 in neighbouring Samoa, with unconfirmed reports of scores more missing and feared dead following the 8.3 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Michael Sala, the homeland security director in American Samoa, said the number dead "could go much higher" and that "it could take a week or so before we know the full extent".

The quake hit between the islands of Samoa and American Samoa just before dawn local time on Tuesday.

Waves up to 5m high swept several kilometres inland, entire villages and towns were wiped out, and power was knocked out in many areas, according to witnesses.



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Tsunami in South Pacific islands kills nearly 100


By KENI LESA and FILI SAGAPOLUTELE, Associated Press Writers.

APIA, Samoa – A massive tsunami unleashed by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 99 and leaving dozens missing Wednesday. The death toll was expected to rise.

Survivors fled the fast-churning water for higher ground on the South Pacific islands and remained huddled there hours after the quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn Tuesday.

The quake was centered about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa, which has about 180,000 people, and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.

Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks service spokeswoman.

Less than 24 hours later, another strong underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia on Wednesday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert for countries along the Indian Ocean and sending panicked residents out of their houses. The quake toppled buildings, cut power and triggered a landslide on Sumatra island, and at least 13 people were reported killed.

The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, sirens rang out with another tsunami alert and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, although there was no indication of a new quake.

In American Samoa's capital of Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars and several boats as a massive cleanup effort continued into the night. Several buildings in the city — just a few feet above sea level — were flattened. Several areas were expected to be without power for up to a month.

Quakes - West Sumatera




September 30, 2009 21:44 PM

Padang In Darkness, Malaysian Students Gather At Andalas University

JAKARTA, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- The earthquake at 7.6 on the Richter Scale (RS) that shook West Sumatra, especially its provincial capital, Padang, at 5.16pm Wednesday caused panic among residents, with many rushing out of their homes and other buildings to save themselves.

According to the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), the earthquake epicentre was at Km57 north-west of Pariaman, a coastal city in West Sumatra, and 71km below the sea.

This was followed by the second quake at 6.2 on the RS at 5.38pm centred at Km22 north-west of Pariaman and 22km below the sea.

However, so far there has been no official report on injuries sustained or loss of lives from the Indonesian authorities following the earthquakes.

Director of the Malaysian Students Department in Indonesia, Dr Junaidi Abu Bakar, told Bernama that all 330 Malaysian students whose homes had collapsed, were damaged or had caught fire, were now gathered at the Universitas Andalas campus, in adherence to the standard procedure in times of disaster.

"Although the university's Medical Faculty building was also reported to have collapsed, we have asked the Malaysian students to gather nearby to facilitate monitoring of each other's safety. We are in direct communication with them," he said.

Local television stations reported that several tall buildings, including a hotel, and thousands of houses had collapsed or were damaged as a result of the the first and second earthquakes.

Electricity supply has been disrupted while telecommunication lines have been damaged, throwing Padang into darkness.

Television reports have also expressed fear over the possibility of hundreds of people being trapped in the collapsed buildings or buried under the rubble, while those who managed to run to safety still gather along roadsides and dare not return to their homes yet.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre was quoted by local online media as saying that the tsunami warning for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India had been withdrawn, following an hour's observation where there had been no major change in the seawave condition.

However, Indonesia's BMKG did not issue a similar warning.

-- BERNAMA

Saturday 19 September 2009

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri / Eid Mubarak

Assalamualaikum to my family and friends.


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EID-UL-FITR is celebrated on the first day of Shaw'waal, at the completion of Ramadan. Shaw'waal is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar.

The Eid-al-Fitr is a very joyous day; it is a true Thanksgiving Day for the believing men and women.

On this day Muslims show their real joy for the health, strength and the opportunities of life, which Allah has given to them to fulfill their obligation of fasting and other good deeds during the blessed month of Ramadan.



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Monday 14 September 2009

Taking a break.

Have been quite busy for the past few weeks, had to work till late at nights at home and also during weekends ~ quite tiring and felt like the hours were not enough to finish everything before the start of audit..hehe..


...my "home-office"...



Alhamdulilah, now that the auditors had finished their field work, it's not so hectic and I could take a breather, and could do other things especially with 1st Syawal around the corner...


And so on Saturday morning, first thing I did after the "sahur" and fajr prayer, took out the sewing machine and started to make the curtains with the materials bought one year ago..hehe...luckily the designs of the materials were still "in" ~ but I'd forgotten the patterns that I wanted to make last year!..haha..


...the machine that had not been used for quite a while...


I so missed this sewing "activity" that when we went out later that day, I bought some more materials (..some people stopped and asked us if we had enough time to make it!..hehe..) and made the curtains for my mum's bedroom!..hope she'll love it :-)

Alhamdulillah, all done by now.

...simple ones really...
no wonder can finished it on time..hehe...



and work? wait till after I'm back after raya break lah..now I'm so looking forward to go back home...especially whenever "Dendang Perantau" song by P.Ramlee is aired..



:-)

Sunday 6 September 2009

In the News...




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Put Your Foot In Your Mouth

Employed by the human-development center of a corporation in the
midwest, my friend trains employees in proper dress codes and etiquette.

One day as she was stepping onto the elevator, a man casually dressed in
jeans and a golf shirt got on with her.

Thinking of her responsibilities, she scolded, "Dressed a little
casually today, aren't we?"

The man replied, "That's one benefit of owning the company..."





(Be careful and mindful of what you say)

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Note To Mechanic

An auto mechanic received a repair order that read: "Check for
clunking sound when going around corners."

Taking the car out for a test drive, he made a right turn, and a
moment later he heard a 'clunk'.

He then made a left turn and again heard a 'clunk'.

Back at the shop he opened the car's trunk, and soon
discovered the problem.

Promptly he returned the repair order to the service manager
with the notation, "Removed bowling ball from trunk".





(Rolling Thunder team ~ Let's practice bowling!)

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Been a while since I joined "Virtual Run" (VR), and with long MCO - Movement Control Order (and no interest from family members..h...