Strong earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning

[News_Editor]

Strong earthquake hits the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning

2012-01-29 01:25:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

RAOUL ISLAND (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Ocean on early Sunday morning, seismologists said, but no tsunami warnings were issued. Damage or casualties were not expected.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake at 5:42 a.m. local time (1742 GMT Saturday) was centered about 47 kilometers (29 miles) east of Raoul Island, the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands. It struck about 28 kilometers (17.4 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Damage or casualties were not expected as nearby islands are mostly uninhabited. Neither the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center nor the Australian and New Zealand governments issued a tsunami alert as earthquakes below magnitude 7 due usually not generate tsunamis.

The Kermadec Islands and the surrounding region are part of the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

In October 2011, a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck about 169 kilometers (105 miles) east of Raoul Island, generating a small tsunami but causing no damage. The largest tsunami wave, approximately 0.17 meter (0.6 feet) above normal sea levels, was recorded at Fishing Rock on Raoul Island.

Three months earlier, in July 2011, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck about 163 kilometers (101 miles) east of Raoul Island. The powerful earthquake generated a 1-meter (3.2 feet) tsunami which hit the island, but no damage or casualties were reported.

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