7.2-magnitude earthquake hits southwest of Guam

A major 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck southwest of U.S. territory Guam on Saturday local time, the United States Geological Survey reported on its website.

The quake occurred at 7:19 a.m. on Saturday local time (2119 GMT on Friday), 375 km (230 miles) southwest of Hagatna (formerly Agana), capital of Guam, at a depth of 4.7 km (2.9 miles), the USGS said.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that, based on historical earthquake and tsunami data, no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists.

"However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts within 100 km of the earthquake epicenter. Authorities in the region of the epicenter should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action," the center said.

Guam is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. It is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States and one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government.

Source: Xinhua