Much like Typhoon Shanshan approaching Tokyo wound up being nothing more than a solid rainstorm before the Pan Pac Championships, a massive earthquake off the coast of Fiji isn’t expected to interfere with the Jr. Pan Pac Championships either.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 8.2 earthquake shook the floor of the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, just as the American team was arriving for the meet. Experts believe, however, that it was too deep to cause any damage.
“I would not expect any damage. People will feel it but it’s so deep that I would not expect any damage,” USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley told Reuters.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Tweeted out that while the earthquake is causing tsunami waves, they are not considered dangerous, in spite of the earthquake’s proximity to Suva, where the meet is being held.
UPDATE: Fiji #earthquake magnitude revised to 8.2 and small, non-dangerous #tsunami waves have been observed. While no hazard is expected for any coastline, but please be observant and exercise normal caution.https://t.co/Af5aJJKIIB
— NWS PTWC (@NWS_PTWC) August 19, 2018
An earthquake of magnitude 8.2 on the Richter Scale is extremely rare. According to the USGS, there have only been 11 earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 8.0 in the last 11 years. It is also the highest-magnitude earthquake recorded so far in 2018. The earthquake that caused the 2011 tsunami that devestated Japan was measured at 9.0.
I had just had an earth quake in Sandy Utah and our church almost collapsed I am so scared because I was right there inside the church I had to get 50 people out.😢😫 So glad that everyone got out
We will have to get a new plan every time this happens
Oh MY gOSH How is that possible dude.You are a god
Clear lucky. Very deep..
Rumblings on the street say the American youngsters are going to shake things up while there!
Word on the street is that Schooling swam a 100 fly through a 8.3 earthquake and still went 50.9.
lol
It was at 560KM deep, no need to worry. If it was at (let’s say) 5 to 10KM, that would be catastrophic.