6.6 EQ in New Caledonia

Strong 6.6 quake hits New Caledonia

MAP 6.6 2012/03/03 12:19:56 -22.157 170.317 15.2 SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 2012/03/03 18:22:32 -22.075 170.306 10.8 SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS




Tsunami wave propagation. No risk for population.

Magnitude 6.6
Date-Time
* Saturday, March 03, 2012 at 12:19:55 UTC
* Saturday, March 03, 2012 at 11:19:55 PM at epicenter
* Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 22.157°S, 170.317°E
Depth 15.2 km (9.4 miles)
Region SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS
Distances
180 km (111 miles) W of Ile Hunter, Loyalty Isl., New Caledonia
260 km (161 miles) ESE of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
399 km (247 miles) E of NOUMEA, New Caledonia
1686 km (1047 miles) NNW of Auckland, New Zealand
Location
Uncertainty horizontal +/- 14 km (8.7 miles); depth +/- 4.1 km (2.5 miles)
Parameters
NST=251, Nph=253, Dmin=399.6 km, Rmss=0.8 sec, Gp= 18°,
M-type=centroid moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8
Source

* Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Source

SYDNEY—A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit southeast of the Loyalty Islands in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia late Saturday but there was no tsunami alert, seismologists said.

The quake struck 260 kilometers (161 miles) east-southeast of the town of Tadine on the island of Mare at 11:19 pm local time (1219 GMT) at a relatively shallow depth of 15 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.

USGS initially measured it at 6.9 but later revised it down to 6.6.

Geoscience Australia gave it an initial magnitude of 6.7 at a depth of 46 kilometers and estimated that it was unlikely to have caused damage.

There was no threat of a widespread destructive tsunami from the tremor, which hit about 400 kilometers east of the New Caledonian capital Noumea, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

“However earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicenter,” it said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the sparsely populated and remote Loyalty Islands.

New Caledonia lies on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a zone of frequent seismic activity caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates.

Source: Inquirer News

You know, not every 6+ earthquake needs its own thread. Especially eq's from this active region, especially at a depth of 10+ miles and especially when there is no reported damage or tsunamis... just saying