Friday, August 05, 2005
Is strong earthquake a sign of a future eruption?
A strong earthquake shook Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica before dawn Wednesday, but no injuries or damages were reported.
The magnitude 6.3 earthquake was centered 75 miles southeast of Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center. It hit at 5:03 a.m. at a depth of 6.2 miles.
Nicaraguan authorities also reported a second earthquake of magnitude 4.5 about an hour and a half later in nearly the same location.
Red Cross and government civil defense officials had no reports of injuries or destruction in Nicaragua.
The earthquake jarred awake residents on the island of Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua, but many people slept through it in Managua.
"There were no victims or material damages," said Felipe Morales, mayor of Altagracia, an Ometepe Island village on the eastern slopes of Concepcion volcano. "But nevertheless we suspended classes, and we are still on alert."
Islanders were still jittery after eruptions last week at the 5,282-foot tall volcano that rained ash 10 miles away.
The temblors were felt as far away as Bluefields on the Caribbean coast 170 miles east of Managua.
The magnitude 6.3 earthquake was centered 75 miles southeast of Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center. It hit at 5:03 a.m. at a depth of 6.2 miles.
Nicaraguan authorities also reported a second earthquake of magnitude 4.5 about an hour and a half later in nearly the same location.
Red Cross and government civil defense officials had no reports of injuries or destruction in Nicaragua.
The earthquake jarred awake residents on the island of Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua, but many people slept through it in Managua.
"There were no victims or material damages," said Felipe Morales, mayor of Altagracia, an Ometepe Island village on the eastern slopes of Concepcion volcano. "But nevertheless we suspended classes, and we are still on alert."
Islanders were still jittery after eruptions last week at the 5,282-foot tall volcano that rained ash 10 miles away.
The temblors were felt as far away as Bluefields on the Caribbean coast 170 miles east of Managua.
# posted by kevin : 9:10 AM
