6.6 magnitude earthquake strikes Pacific near New Caledonia, no damage

MAY 2014 – AUSTRALIA – A strong but fairly deep earthquake struck the Pacific Ocean near the French territory of New Caledonia on Thursday evening, but there were no reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warnings were issued, seismologists said. The 6.6-magnitude earthquake at 5:36 p.m. local time (0636 GMT) on Thursday was centered in the Pacific Ocean about 201 kilometers (125 miles) west-northwest of the uninhabited volcanic island of Hunter, which is part of the French territory of New Caledonia. It struck about 105 kilometers (65 miles) deep, making it a fairly deep earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Computer models showed some 45,000 people on islands near the epicenter may have felt light shaking, but damage or casualties were neither expected nor reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which initially measured the tremor as having a magnitude of 6.7, said the earthquake struck too deep to pose a tsunami threat. “A destructive tsunami was not generated because this earthquake is located too deep inside the Earth,” the center said in a bulletin. –Wire Update