Deep 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami alert

Deep 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami alert

2011-07-29 15:11:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck deep underneath the South Pacific Ocean on early Friday evening, seismologists said, but no tsunami alert was issued.

The 6.6-magnitude earthquake at 7.42 p.m. local time (0742 GMT) was centered about 365 kilometers (226 miles) south-southwest of Ndoi Island, a small island which is part of Fiji. It struck about 528 kilometers (328 miles) deep, making it a deep earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Considering the depth of the earthquake and because earthquakes below magnitude 7 due usually not generate tsunamis, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued no tsunami alert. "A destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data," the center said in a bulletin.

The USGS said no one would have felt the earthquake, which happened on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin which is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

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