Major Earthquake Magnitude 7.3 Loyalty Islands New Caledonia 04/09/08

A series of earthquakes has rocked an area of the South Pacific, the strongest being a 7.3 magnitude Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

At least 7 earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or greater have occurred in the last 12 hours, according to the USGS website.

M 6.2, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

17 minutes ago

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 14:47:52 UTC
Thursday, April 10, 2008 01:47:52 AM at epicenter

Depth: 62.00 km (38.53 mi)

April 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Pacific islands of Vanuatu and New Caledonia were shaken by a magnitude-7.5 earthquake, the largest temblor in the world so far this year, prompting a warning of a possible local tsunami.

M 7.5, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

21 minutes ago

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 12:46:18 UTC
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 11:46:18 PM at epicenter

Depth: 88.50 km (54.99 mi)

Earthquake Details
Magnitude
7.5
Date-Time
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 12:46:18 UTC
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 11:46:18 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
20.208°S, 168.808°E
Depth
88.5 km (55.0 miles)
Region
LOYALTY ISLANDS
Distances
85 km (55 miles) SSW of Isangel, Tanna, Vanuatu175 km (110 miles) NE of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia275 km (170 miles) S of PORT-VILA, Efate, Vanuatu1800 km (1120 miles) ENE of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 7.6 km (4.7 miles); depth +/- 22.6 km (14.0 miles)
Parameters
NST=139, Nph=139, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.1 sec, Gp= 61°,M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID
us2008qqa2

Earthquake Details
Magnitude
6.4
Date-Time
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 11:13:26 UTC
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 10:13:26 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
20.253°S, 168.694°E
Depth
79.7 km (49.5 miles)
Region
LOYALTY ISLANDS
Distances
100 km (60 miles) SW of Isangel, Tanna, Vanuatu165 km (100 miles) NNE of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia280 km (175 miles) S of PORT-VILA, Efate, Vanuatu1785 km (1110 miles) ENE of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 7.5 km (4.7 miles); depth +/- 19.1 km (11.9 miles)
Parameters
NST=116, Nph=116, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=0.85 sec, Gp=101°,M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID
us2008qqax

NO DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA. HOWEVER - EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE SOMETIMES GENERATE LOCAL TSUNAMIS THAT CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS LOCATED WITHIN A HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION OF THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION.