Strong earthquake hits far off Guam, no threat to land
August 19th, 2010 - 12:25 am ICT by BNO NewsHAGATNA (BNO NEWS) — A strong earthquake struck the Mariana Islands region near Guam on early Thursday morning, seismologists said, but the earthquake was no threat to land.
The 6.1-magnitude earthquake at 2.28 a.m. local time (1628 GMT Wednesday) was centered approximately 240 miles (385 kilometers) west-southwest of Hagatna, the capital of the U.S. territory of Guam. It struck about 26.8 miles (43.1 kilometers) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.5 on the Richter scale, but did not issue a tsunami warning.
The USGS estimated that the earthquake was located too far from land to have been felt on the Mariana Islands, and therefore said damage was unlikely.
A geophysicist at the USGS told BNO News that the earthquake may have been an aftershock to a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Saturday that struck only 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Thursday’s earthquake. That earthquake was also not felt on Guam, or any of the other Mariana Islands.
On April 26, 2002, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck about 224.9 miles (362 kilometers) east of Thursday’s earthquake, causing no fatalities.
And on October 31, 2007, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake was centered about 58 miles (93 kilometers) north-northwest of Pagan on the Northern Mariana Islands. It struck about 154.3 miles (248.3 kilometers) deep, making it a deep earthquake. There were no casualties.
- Strong aftershock hits far off Guam, no threat to land - Aug 14, 2010
- Strong quake hits far from Guam, no threat - Aug 14, 2010
- Strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake hits south of the Mariana Islands - Jul 10, 2010
- Major 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocks the Mariana Islands - Aug 14, 2010
- Light earthquake rattles Guam, no damage - Jul 01, 2010
- Tsunamis strike Japan after enormous earthquakes, casualties reported - Mar 11, 2011
- Massive earthquake rocks Japan, tsunami warnings issued - Mar 11, 2011
- Powerful earthquake strikes eastern Indonesia - Sep 30, 2010
- Strong earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning - Jan 29, 2012
- Strongest earthquake in years hits northwest of Norway, no damage - May 25, 2012
- Strong quake hits deep underneath the South Pacific Ocean - Dec 28, 2010
- Deep 6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes off East Timor; no damage - Aug 30, 2011
- Powerful quake strikes Alaskan island, tsunami warning canceled - Jun 24, 2011
- Strong earthquake strikes far off Mexico's Pacific coast, no damage - Nov 01, 2011
- 6.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea - Mar 22, 2012
Tags: aftershock, geophysicist, islands region, kilometers, magnitude earthquake, north northwest, northern mariana islands, october 31, pacific tsunami warning, pacific tsunami warning center, richter scale, seismologists, shallow earthquake, territory of guam, thursday morning, tsunami warning center, united states geological, united states geological survey, usgs, west southwest