Strong earthquake strikes the South Sandwich Islands, no damage

Strong earthquake strikes the South Sandwich Islands, no damage

2010-12-08 13:35:53 GMT+7 (ICT)

VISOKOI ISLAND, SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck near the South Sandwich Islands on early Wednesday morning, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.

The 6.5-magnitude earthquake at 3.24 a.m. local time (0524 GMT) was centered approximately 85 kilometers (55 miles) east-northeast of Visokoi Island, an uninhabited island in the Traversay Islands group of the South Sandwich Islands. It struck about 17.3 kilometers (10.8 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS said no damage or casualties were expected as the earthquake struck too far from any inhabited islands, making it unlikely that anyone felt the earthquake.

No tsunami warnings were issued.

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