A massive earthquake of magnitude 8.2 on the Richter Scale struck Pacific Ocean near Fiji early on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said. The earthquake did not cause any damage as it was located 563.4 km below the earth’s surface.
The quake, whose epicenter was located 280 km north-north east of Ndoi Island in Fiji, did not lead to a tsunami because of its depth, Reuters reported quoting the US Tsunami Warning Center. “I would not expect any damage,” USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley said. People will feel it but it’s so deep that I would not expect any damage.”
The quake was initially measured at 8.0 on the Richter Scale but then upgraded to 8.2.
There is no tsunami threat to Guam, the United States West Coast, British Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa and other nearby places. However, small tsunami waves have been observed, the US Tsunami Warning Center said. “Persons along coastal areas should be observant and exercise normal caution,” it said.
Tremors in Indonesia
Meanwhile, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Lombok Island in Indonesia on Sunday, at a depth of around 7.9 km below the earth’s surface. No casualties were reported, but people ran into the streets. “People started to scream and cry,” East Lombok resident Augus Salim told AFP. “They all ran to the street.”
The tremor was also felt in the island’s capital, Mataram, and in Bali. National disaster agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there was a landslide in a park where hundreds of hikers had been trapped following a quake in July.
The latest tremors come just two weeks after an earthquake on August 5 killed hundreds of people and displaced 3,50,000.
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