Strong quake hits deep underneath the South Pacific Ocean
December 28th, 2010 - 5:11 pm ICT by BNO NewsNDOI ISLAND, FIJI (BNO NEWS) — A strong earthquake struck deep underneath the South Pacific Ocean on early Tuesday evening, seismologists said, but no damage or casualties were reported.
The 6.3-magnitude earthquake at 8.34 p.m. local time (0834 GMT) was centered approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles) south-southwest of Ndoi Island in Fiji, or 535 kilometers (330 miles) west-southwest of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga. It struck about 551.6 kilometers (342.8 miles) deep, making it a deep earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was located too deep and too far to have been felt by anyone, and therefore damage or casualties were not expected. It was also not strong enough to generate a tsunami.
The region is frequently struck by large earthquake. On early Sunday morning, a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck 145 kilometers (90 miles) west of Isangel, a city on the Vanuatu island of Tanna. It struck about 12.3 kilometers (7.6 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake.
Thousands of people were able to feel the earthquake on Vanuatu, but there were no reports of serious damage or casualties. A small tsunami was also generated, but caused no damage.
- Strong earthquake strikes south of the Fiji Islands, close to Tonga - May 15, 2010
- Strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocks Vanuatu - Dec 29, 2010
- Powerful earthquake strikes west of Vanuatu, no tsunami alert - Feb 02, 2012
- Powerful 7.1-magnitude quake strikes near Vanuatu - USGS - May 10, 2011
- Powerful earthquakes strike off Vanuatu, generating small tsunamis - Aug 21, 2011
- Strong earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu - May 11, 2011
- Strong earthquake strikes off Tonga's capital, no tsunami threat - Feb 13, 2010
- Tsunami warnings issued following powerful quake near Vanuatu - Dec 25, 2010
- Strong earthquake strikes off the Vanuatu Islands, no damage expected - Jan 09, 2011
- Tsunami waves observed after powerful Vanuatu quake, warnings canceled - Dec 25, 2010
- Powerful 7.6 quake near Vanuatu prompts tsunami warnings - Dec 25, 2010
- Strong earthquake hits off Tonga, no damage expected - Oct 12, 2010
- Strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake hits off the Vanuatu Islands - Sep 08, 2010
- Strong earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, east of Vanuatu - Jul 31, 2011
- Strong earthquake strikes off Tonga, no damage reported - Dec 26, 2011
Tags: bno, capital of tonga, casualties, early sunday morning, early tuesday, island fiji, kilometers, large earthquake, magnitude earthquake, nuku alofa, seismologists, shallow earthquake, south pacific ocean, south southwest, tanna, tuesday evening, united states geological, united states geological survey, vanuatu island, west southwest