. | . |
Strong quake rattles Papua New Guinea: USGS Sydney (AFP) Dec 2, 2010 A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake rattled Papua New Guinea on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no threat of a tsunami. The quake struck at a depth of 32 kilometres (20 miles), 37 kilometres northeast of Kandrian in the New Britain region, USGS said. Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Clive Collins said there was a possibility some damage had occurred in Kandrian. "It was probably quite strongly felt in Kambrian," said Collins. "There could be some damage there." The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, which monitors violent ocean movements generated by quakes, issued a bulletin saying "no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data." Geoscience Australia estimated the quake at a depth of 60-80 kilometres and said its epicentre was likely either onshore or in shallow water just off the coast of New Britain, meaning there was little risk of sufficient water being displaced to cause a tsunami. Seismologists on the ground in PNG told AFP the quake had been felt strongly in both Kandrian and nearby Kimbe, but there were no immediate reports of destruction in the area. They could not rule out some damage in villages close to the epicentre. Papua New Guinea, which is mired in poverty despite rich mineral deposits, sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates and quakes are frequent. But large quakes often cause little damage in the mountainous nation, which has remote and sparsely populated areas.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
6.6 magnitude quake near Japanese islands: USGS Tokyo (AFP) Nov 30, 2010 A strong 6.6 magnitude quake struck off Japan's southern Bonin Islands on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, with tremors felt more than 800 kilometres away in Tokyo, but no tsunami was expected. The quake hit at 12.24 pm local time (0324 GMT), 337 kilometres (210 miles) west northwest of Chichi-shima in Japan's remote Bonin island region at a depth of 478 kilometres. There were no imm ... read more |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |