Major 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocks the Mariana Islands

August 14th, 2010 - 5:07 am ICT by BNO News  

HAGATNA, GUAM (BNO NEWS) — A major earthquake struck on Friday 230 miles from the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam, south of the Mariana Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake at 7:19 a.m. local time (2119 GMT) was centered about 4.7 kilometers (2.9 miles), 230 miles from Hagatna, Guam. The islands are located within the so called Pacific Ring of Fire, where earthquake activity is often and strong and is home to 75 percent of the world’s volcanoes.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no destructive widespread tsunami was expected, but some local tsunamis may occur due to underwater landslides, and could be destructive along coasts located within 100 kilometers of the earthquake’s epicenter.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the earthquake.

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