Updated at 9:14 a.m., Wednesday, August 1, 2007
No Hawaii tsunami threat after 7.2 Vanuatu quake
Advertiser Staff and News Services
GOLDEN, Colo. — A strong earthquake struck Thursday off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, originating far below the ocean floor.The 7.2 quake, which hit at 4:08 a.m. local time, didn't trigger any tsunamis around the archipelago and little damage was expected because it originated 108 miles beneath the ocean's surface, said Waverly Person, a geophysicist with U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.
The earthquake hit 28 miles southeast of the Vanuatu town of Luganville and 1,240 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia.
It was the first earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7 in 122 days, he said. Normally a quake in that range can cause buildings to collapse and deaths in populated areas.
An advisory issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center noted that a destructive tsunami is not expected, based on data tied to the earthquake and the area's tsunami history.
