Powerful Quake Strikes Near Solomons
Pastor Dale Morgan
Powerful Quake Strikes Near Solomons*
Sunday September 2, 2007 4:16 AM
HONIARA, Solomon Islands (AP) - A powerful earthquake struck deep
beneath the ocean floor near the Solomon Islands on Sunday, the U.S.
Geological Survey reported.
No tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of
damage or injuries.
The USGS measured the quake's preliminary magnitude at 6.9 and said it
struck about 60 miles south of the remote Santa Cruz Islands in the
South Pacific. The depth was 22 miles beneath the sea floor, it said.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center measured the quake's
magnitude at 7.3. It said the available data suggested there was no
danger of a tsunami.
The Solomons Islands are comprised of more than 200 islands with a
population of about 552,000 people. They lie on the Pacific Basin's
so-called ``Ring of Fire,'' an arc of volcanos and fault lines where
quakes are frequent.
An April 2 earthquake and tsunami in the Solomons caused widespread
destruction on some islands and killed at least 50 people.