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USGS revises Vanuatu quake to magnitude 6.9 after 7.2 alert
USGS later listed a reviewed magnitude 6.9 earthquake 197 km WNW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, at 10:31 p.m. EDT Friday, after an automatic 7.2 reading west of Sola; PTWC had warned of a local tsunami threat.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck about 200 kilometers west of Sola, Vanuatu, at 10:31 p.m. EDT Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a preliminary automatic report1.
USGS later posted a reviewed origin for a magnitude 6.9 earthquake 197 kilometers west-northwest of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, at 10:31:28 p.m. EDT Friday, about 25 seconds earlier than the automatic 7.2 time stamp. The later page listed magnitude type mww from 40 stations, depth of about 10 kilometers, coordinates 14.06 degrees south and 165.55 degrees east, and a tsunami flag of 0.
The first USGS page placed the automatic epicenter at 13.8 degrees south and 165.7 degrees east, at about 10 kilometers depth, magnitude type mwp from 10 stations, and set a tsunami flag1. Both origins were labeled preliminary in USGS products1.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, in a 0237 UTC Saturday threat message tied to the earlier automatic origin, said hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts within 300 kilometers of the epicenter, along Vanuatu. It listed an estimated initial-wave arrival of 0301 UTC Saturday at Espiritu Santo. PTWC said the message was for national authorities, who set local alert levels.
The National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, said there was no tsunami danger for the U.S. West Coast, British Columbia or Alaska. Felt reports, ShakeMap intensity and any damage or casualty figures were not in the USGS records at filing1.