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Quake hits NMI, Guam
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Posted on Jun 23 2000
A moderate earthquake shook islands in the Marianas in the early hours yesterday, but there was no report of casualty or damages, according to officials.
The temblor, measuring 5.7 in the open-ended Richter scale, struck at around 2:25 a.m. and was felt by some Saipan residents, the Emergency Management Office said.
Juan Camacho, EMO’s cartographic technician, located its epicenter at about 95 miles southwest of Saipan, 30 miles west of Rota or 50 miles north of Agana, Guam. It had a depth of 110 kilometers, he said.
Two minor aftershocks had been recorded by EMO as of 2:00 p.m. yesterday, but the office advised residents that there is no cause to worry. “We’ve been monitoring the situation,” Mr. Camacho said.
While there was no report of damages or casualty, the quake rocked some residents on Saipan from their sleep.
“I thought it was just the bed shaking, but I realized there was an earthquake. It scared me a bit, but afterwards I just went back to sleep,” said one resident in a telephone call, who did not give her name.
The Marianas chain of islands is located within the so-called Pacific’s “Rim of Fire” and is usually hit by numerous earthquakes every year.
A tremor with magnitude of between 5 to 6 in the Richter scale is capable of triggering at most slight damage to well-designed buildings and major damage to poorly constructed buildings in small regions, according to earthquake information.
