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Earthquake strikes off Vanuatu
Sydney, Aug 8, 2006 An earthquake of 6.7 magnitude struck off the coast of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu on Tuesday, prompting local authorities to warn outlying islands of possible tsunamis. Job Esau, director of Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office, said an alert had gone out on national radio, but there were no reports of damage or casualties. "We have contacted the provinces by telephone," he told AFP. "There has not been any damage caused to infrastructure." The quake was recorded at 9:18 am local time (2218 GMT), 77 kilometres (48 miles) east of Vanuatu's largest island Santo, the US Geological Survey said. Its depth was 149 kilometres (92 miles) below the seabed. The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released. Goescience Australia said an earthquake of that magnitude and depth would not have posed a tsunami risk. "Generation of a tsunami would not be possible for a magnitude 6.7 event at 150 kilometres depth," said seismologist David Jepsen. At least 654 people were killed in Indonesia last month when a 7.7-magnitude quake sent tsunamis crashing into the south coast of Java island. On December 26, 2004 killer waves spawned by an earthquake off Indonesia swept across countries in the northern Indian Ocean, killing around 220,000 people. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
Clinton calls killing of Sri Lankan aid workers 'wanton act'
New York, Aug 7, 2006 Former US president Bill Clinton, who is a UN special envoy on tsunami recovery efforts in the Indian Ocean, expressed shock Monday at the killing of 16 aid workers in Sri Lanka. |
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