Magnitude 7.0 Quake Hits South Colombia

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A strong earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale has jolted southern Colombia and was felt as far away as the Ecuadorian capital city of Quito.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the quake occurred at 9:16 a.m. local time (1416 GMT) Saturday and was centered about 11 kilometers from the Colombian town of Pasto.

The tremor occurred at a depth of 129 kilometers, USGS said. The quake was felt in Colombia’s south and west, and in the capital Bogota. It was also felt hundreds of kilometers south in Quito, where buildings reportedly shook for two minutes.

The Colombian service said national crisis centers were activated, but added there were no immediate reports of casualties or damages.

"It's possible there won't be aftershocks because of the great depth at which the quake occurred," said Jaime Raigosa, a seismologist at the Institute of Geology and Mining.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii stated that the quake would not cause a destructive tsunami.

"A destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected, and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii,” PTWC said.

 

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