Strong quake strikes off Guam

WELLINGTON (AFP) ― A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit off the Pacific island of Guam Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued as the tremor was too deep.

The agency initially said the quake was 7.1 magnitude, but later revised down the tremor which struck in the sea at a depth of 136 kilometers some 49 kilometers northwest of the U.S. territory’s capital Hagatna.

“A destructive tsunami was not generated because this earthquake is located too deep inside the earth,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Guam, the largest island in Micronesia with a population of 180,000, is no stranger to earthquakes, but tsunamis hit only rarely.

The largest quake in recent years hit in 1993. Although no one died in the 7.7-magnitude tremor, several people were injured and buildings suffered structural damage.

Geoscience Australia said Wednesday’s quake, which it estimated at a magnitude of 6.6, was not shallow enough to have generated a tsunami.