Magnitude 7.7 quake strikes in Pacific, no tsunami

  • 30/07/2016
(file)
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A major earthquake of magnitude 7.7 has struck in the eastern Pacific Ocean close to the Northern Mariana Islands, but was not expected to trigger a tsunami, the US Geological Survey and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

The epicentre of the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.6, was located 50km north of the island of Pagan, part of the sparsely populated Northern Mariana Islands volcanic archipelago. The quake was fairly deep at 212km below the seabed, dampening its effect.

"Based on the depth of the earthquake a tsunami is not expected," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Following the quake, GeoNet New Zealand reported a magnitude 5.0 quake 65km west of Auckland, however its status was later changed to deleted.

Reuters / Newshub.