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No tsunami threat from strong 6.6M quake near Fiji Saturday (May 3)


View M6.6 – South of the Fiji Islands – 2014-05-04 09:15:53 UTC in a larger map

Magnitude
6.6

Event Time
2014-05-04 09:15:53 UTC
2014-05-04 21:15:53 UTC+12:00 at epicenter
2014-05-03 23:15:53 UTC-10:00 HST

Location
24.642°S 179.084°E depth=527.6km (327.8mi)

Nearby Cities
497km (309mi) SSW of Ndoi Island, Fiji
703km (437mi) SW of Nuku`alofa, Tonga
722km (449mi) S of Suva, Fiji
777km (483mi) SSE of Nadi, Fiji
911km (566mi) S of Lambasa, Fiji

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0921Z 04 MAY 2014

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

 ORIGIN TIME -  0916Z 04 MAY 2014
 COORDINATES -  24.6 SOUTH  179.3 EAST
 DEPTH       -  578 KM
 LOCATION    -  SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
 MAGNITUDE   -  6.8

EVALUATION

 A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI WAS NOT GENERATED BECAUSE THIS EARTHQUAKE
 IS LOCATED TOO DEEP INSIDE THE EARTH.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE U.S. NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.

USGS: How large does an earthquake have to be to cause a tsunami?

Magnitudes below 6.5
Earthquakes of this magnitude are very unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Magnitudes between 6.5 and 7.5
Earthquakes of this size do not usually produce destructive tsunamis. However, small sea level changes may be observed in the vicinity of the epicenter. Tsunamis capable of producing damage or casualties are rare in this magnitude range but have occurred due to secondary effects such as landslides or submarine slumps.

Magnitudes between 7.6 and 7.8
Earthquakes of this size may produce destructive tsunamis especially near the epicenter; at greater distances small sea level changes may be observed. Tsunamis capable of producing damage at great distances are rare in the magnitude range.

Magnitude 7.9 and greater
Destructive local tsunamis are possible near the epicenter, and significant sea level changes and damage may occur in a broader region.

Note that with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the probability of an aftershock with a magnitude exceeding 7.5 is not negligible. To date, the largest aftershock recorded has been magnitude 7.1 that did not produce a damaging tsunami.

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