Strongest earthquake in years hits northwest of Norway, no damage
May 25th, 2012 - 11:39 pm ICT by BNO NewsOSLO, NORWAY (BNO NEWS) — A strong earthquake struck the Norwegian Sea northwest of Norway on late Thursday evening, making it one of the strongest tremors to hit the region in recent years, seismologists said on Friday. There were no reports of damage or casualties.
The 6.2-magnitude earthquake at 10:47 p.m. local time (2247 GMT) was centered in the Norwegian Sea about 600 kilometers (373 miles) northwest of Tromsø, a city in Troms county in northern Norway. It struck about 8.8 kilometers (5.5 miles) deep, making it an extremely shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a small possibility of a local tsunami due to the shallow depth of the earthquake, but no unusual waves were observed on nearby coastlines. “A destructive tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data,” the center said in a bulletin.
Geoscience Australia said very light shaking may have been felt as far away as the Norwegian island of Jan Mayen, a small region of mainland Norway, and a tiny part of the thinly populated Svalbard archipelago. But the USGS, on the other hand, said this was unlikely due to the earthquake’s distance from those locations. There were no known reports of anyone having felt the earthquake.
In February 2008, a strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic, making it the largest earthquake in Norwegian history but causing no damage or casualties. A 5.8-magnitude earthquake which struck the coast of central Norway in August 1819 caused landslides, rock slides and a small tsunami.
- Strong earthquake hits off Norwegian island, no tsunami alert - Jan 29, 2011
- Strong earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning - Jan 29, 2012
- Huge earthquakes strike off Indonesia, prompt tsunami warnings (Update 2) - Apr 11, 2012
- Huge earthquakes strike off Indonesia, prompt tsunami warnings (Update 1) - Apr 11, 2012
- Strong quake hits Norwegian Sea: USGS - May 25, 2012
- Damage reported after magnitude-7.6 earthquake hits Costa Rica - Sep 05, 2012
- Huge earthquakes strike off Indonesia, generate small tsunamis (Update 3) - Apr 11, 2012
- 6.0-magnitude earthquake hits off the coast of Oregon, no damage - Feb 16, 2012
- Powerful quake off Philippines triggers small tsunami - Aug 31, 2012
- Strong earthquake hits deep underneath northern Argentina - May 29, 2012
- Strong earthquake shakes Papua New Guinea, no damage - Aug 20, 2012
- Strong earthquake strikes far off Mexico's Pacific coast, no damage - Nov 01, 2011
- Strong earthquake hits off the coast of Oregon, no damage - Oct 13, 2011
- Strong earthquake strikes off eastern Indonesia, causing panic - Nov 14, 2011
- Powerful quake strikes Alaskan island, tsunami warning canceled - Jun 24, 2011
Tags: central norway, geoscience australia, largest earthquake, magnitude earthquake, mainland norway, northern norway, norwegian history, norwegian island, norwegian sea, oslo norway, pacific tsunami warning, pacific tsunami warning center, rock slides, shallow earthquake, strongest earthquake, svalbard archipelago, tsunami data, tsunami threat, tsunami warning center, united states geological survey