5.9-magnitude earthquake hits off Oregon coast, no damage

5.9-magnitude earthquake hits off Oregon coast, no damage

2012-04-12 18:20:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

COOS BAY, OREGON (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off the coast of Oregon on early Wednesday afternoon, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warning was issued.

The 5.9-magnitude earthquake at 1:41 p.m. local time (2241 GMT) was centered about 271 kilometers (168 miles) west of Coos Bay, a city located in Coos County on the Pacific coast of the United States. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.3 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS said it did not expect to see damage or casualties due to the earthquake's distance from the coast, and there were no immediate reports of tremors being felt anywhere along the coast. No tsunami warning was issued by the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC).

Wednesday's earthquake follows a 6.0-magnitude earthquake which struck the same area on February 14, also causing no damage. The earthquake in February was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit off the coast of Oregon in recent years.

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