Massive 6.6 Quake Jolts Deep Pacific Near Samoa – Why It Shook No One And Sparked No Tsunami Alert

Photo: earthquake.usgs.gov

Melbourne: For a brief moment early on Friday, the people of Samoa stood unknowingly above a silent stir far below them. A 6.6 magnitude earthquake rippled through the depths of the South Pacific Ocean.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the tremor struck some 440 kilometres southwest of Apia, Samoa’s capital. But what stood out most was not the strength of the quake. It was how deep it was. Measured at 314 kilometres beneath the earth’s surface, it belonged to a class of quakes geologists call “deep-focus”. These are the kind that rarely cause destruction as their power is absorbed by the vastness of the earth’s interior layers.

In Samoa itself, life moved on as usual. No damage or injury has been reported.

The Samoa Meteorological Services quickly assessed the situation. Their report offered calm reassurance that no tsunami was triggered. That was soon echoed by officials across the ocean at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, who also ruled out any risk of a tsunami.

Though Friday’s quake passed without accident, the region’s geology leaves little room for complacency. Samoa lies along the volatile “Ring of Fire”, a belt of tectonic activity that curls around the Pacific and produces a steady churn of quakes and volcanic eruptions.

The memory of 2009 still lingers in the region. That year, twin quakes erupted between Samoa and American Samoa, sending waves barreling toward shorelines. The tsunami they triggered proved devastating. At least 192 lives were lost across Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, reminding people of the ocean’s quiet power.

This time, however, the ocean slept. The earth shifted far below. And Samoa, perched above the pulse of the Pacific, was left untouched.