NEWS: 6.9 Earthquake reported off the coast of Nicaragua

A 6.9 earthquake struck at 3:26 p.m. off the coast of Nicaragua. A 6.9 is capable of producing extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure. NOAA's West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center has determined this earthquake will not cause a tsunami.



Nicaragua is located near the Middle Atlantic Trench and has experienced three moderate quakes since 2000. The largest, a 5.9 on July 7, 2000 killed four people, buckled streets and damaged 200 homes. In 2002, a 5.4 struck in August and a 5.0 occurred in November with both quakes causing minor damage.

Today's quake is another example of how active the "Ring Of Fire" has been in the past few weeks. This area is known for its frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but are the recent large quakes and volcanic activity a sign of an impending disaster?

CA is currently experiencing three earthquake swarms. The most activity is located near Parkfield where a 6.0 struck on September 28. The largest aftershock from that area was a 3.0 yesterday.

A small swarm is occurring at The Geysers, in Northern CA that began with a 2.3 on Thursday, with the largest event being a 3.0 at 2:47 p.m. this afternoon.

The CA/NV border is also shaking after a 4.7 on Friday, October 8. That quake is generating aftershocks in the 1.3 to 2.2 range.

Volcanic activity along the "Ring of Fire" includes the continuing events at Mount St. Helens, as well as new activity from Rinjani, Indonesia and ongoing events at Colima, Mexico, Fuego and Santa Maria, Guatemala. The USGS Weekly Volcanic Report also indicates that activity at Soufriere Hills, Montserrat and Shiveluch, Russia are elavated.

USGS Weekly Volcano Report

edited on 10/10 to downgrade magnitude per USGS site.

[edit on 10-10-2004 by Zion Mainframe]

[edit on 10-10-2004 by Olivia]

Quote: Nicaragua is located near the Middle Atlantic Trench. This quake is another example of the increased volcanic and earthquake activity along the "Ring of Fire".

What increase in activity???? The concensus seems to be its all very normal. Except that even the USGS is reporting that eartquake activity M