6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes near Vanuatu Island

October 21, 2012 –VANUATU – A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the South Pacific island of Vanuatu Sunday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued. The quake struck at 10:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday) 500 kilometers (310 miles) northwest of the capital Port Vila at a depth of 35 kilometers, the United States Geological Survey said. The USGS had earlier put the magnitude at 6.6 but the quake was down-graded to a 6.2 magnitude. Vanuatu lies on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a zone of frequent seismic activity caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates. It has been rocked by several large quakes in recent years, averaging about three magnitudes 7.0 or above incidents every year without any major damage. –The West 

5.3 quake strikes Central CA: A moderate earthquake was widely felt as it rattled the central California coast, but authorities said it didn’t cause any damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said nearly 5,000 people reported on its website that they felt the magnitude 5.3 quake, when it struck shortly before midnight Saturday near King City, about 40 miles southeast of Salinas. USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan says the temblor struck along the San Andreas Fault and was followed by at least four aftershocks that were greater than magnitude 2.5. The San Andreas Fault forms the main strand of the plate boundary, running from the Gulf of California (Baja California, Mexico) north to the region of Cape Mendocino. The fault in the San Francisco Bay region is a largely strike-slip fault running through the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Gulf of the Farallons west of the Golden Gate, through Tomales Bay and Bodega Bay, and north to Fort Ross and Point Arena.The sheriff departments for Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties both said they have no reports of any damage. “We did have people call in but there no reports of any damage,” said Shawna Schaffer, a dispatch with the San Luis Obispo department. Vaughan said a magnitude 5 quake is capable of causing damage, most often knocking things to fall off shelves and making moderate cracks in walls and foundations. –ABC

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