Major earthquake strikes the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning

Major earthquake strikes the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning

2011-10-22 01:38:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

RAOUL ISLAND (BNO NEWS) -- A major earthquake struck off the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Ocean on early Saturday morning, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The 7.6-magnitude earthquake at 5.57 a.m. local time (1757 GMT Friday) was centered about 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Raoul Island, which is part of the Kermadec Islands. It struck about 39.8 kilometers (24.7 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

No tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, although it cautioned there is a low chance of a local tsunami. "No destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the center said in a bulletin.

It added: "However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicenter. Authorities in the region of the epicenter should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action."

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