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Hundreds Dead in Quake; Tsunami Fears Subside

More than 300 people are reported dead in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. Thousands of residents in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and elsewhere evacuated from coastal areas after the quake hit the region around 11:10 a.m. (EST) and governments issued tsunami warnings. Now, however, the danger of a new tsunami appears to have passed.

Measuring about 8.7 on the Richter scale, today’s quake occurred on the same fault line as the 9.2 earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami on December 26, 2004. That tsunami was among the most deadly and expensive natural disasters in history.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.