3 metre (10 ft) wave hits Island of Simeuleu after Quake

[rooboy]

Breaking news on Australian cable. More info to come, but likely that most people got out of the way before the tsunami hit.

[mike_c]

1. huh? I heard an oceanagrapher (NOAA I think) tonight say...

...that the tsunami was about 10 CENTIMETERS when it crested on tide guages in Australia, and that the largest wave was in Madagascar, where it was 40-50 CENTIMETERS high. This was reported on the BBC.

[daleo]

3. Perhaps some oddity of local undersea topography

That might create a much larger wave in a selected area (e.g. very rapid slope near shore).

[Newsjock]

2. link to short report; 25 possibly dead

Edit to change report, with death estimate
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/story.asp?id=43883

A three metre high wave has struck Simeulue Island near Aceh and reportedly wiped out the main hospital. A journalist who has made contact with the remote islands says there are unconfirmed reports 25 people have been killed. The wave hit the island only minutes after the earthquake struck the region. A military commander in Indonesia's Aceh Province says the tsunami has caused extensive damage.

[NYC]

6. Wiping out the main hospital is significant.

And I guess the 25 people are dead from the tsunami, because earlier I read 290 so far, and likely many more once daylight arrives, and they can find them.

[Spinzonner]

4. They just don't make Tsunamis like they used to

Thank God

[Maple]

5. Seems to be going

east and south rather than west this time.

[obxhead]

7. This has been happening for 1000's of years.

Put the techno widgets in place to fix the warning problem at least.
Otherwise is this "new"s

[Maple]

8. So has political intrigue

and war, but you talk about it all the time.

[obxhead]

9. good point.

[montana_hazeleyes]

10. I liked your answer

obxhead.

And edited to say Welcome to DU!

[Ediacara]

11. Simeulue is near/at the epicenter

It's the circled island on this map:

[allemand]

12. MISNA has first-hand reports from the region (Nias, Simeulue) in Italian

http://www.misna.org/ita/default.htm