6.5 Earthquake Strikes Near Micronesia And U.S. Guam

Earthquake strikes near Micronesia and US Guam: Massive quake rocks

The quake occurred near the Yap Trench between the Philippines and the US’ Mariana Islands with a depth of 45km at 12.22am GMT.

No reports have emerged so far of any damage of casualties.

According to the US Tsunami Warning System, no alert has been issued.

It said: “There is no tsunami danger for the US West Coast, Canada’s British Columbia, or Alaska.

“Some of the areas listed above may experience non-damaging sea level changes.”

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology tweeted: “No tsunami threat to Australia from magnitude 6.5 earthquake near West Caroline Islands, Micronesia.”

Guam and the islands of Micronesia are located in the region known as the Ring of Fire – which extends around the Pacific Ocean and is a hotspot for earthquake activity.

3 powerful earthquakes strike Micronesia (M6.5, M6.4) and New Zealand (M6.2) within 10 hours

The first strong and shallow earthquake struck with a magnitude of 6.5 the State of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia at 00:22 UTC on December 8, 2017 at a depth of 13.7 km (8.5 miles). Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.

The second powerful quake, again a shallow earthquake, hit the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand at 02:09 UTC on December 8, 2017 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The M6.2 earthquake didn’t trigger any tsunami.

Finally, the third strong and shallow (12.6 miles) earthquake – and second of the day for the State of Yap, Micronesia – hit at 09:51 UTC on December 8, 2017. The magnitude of this last quake was M6.4. Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.

Micronesia is actually being hit by a series of earthquakes since early morning, with a M.6.5, followed by a M4.7, a M5.5, a M6.4, a M4.9 and a M4.9.