Thursday, December 25, 2008

Magnitude 6 Earthquake Strikes Off Pakistan’s Coast, USGS Says

By Aaron Sheldrick
Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) -- A magnitude 6 earthquake struck off the coast of Pakistan at 2:40 a.m. local time, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The temblor hit at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) and the epicenter was 305 kilometers west-southwest of Karachi, the country’s main commercial center, the USGS said.

Pakistan is located in a zone where the Eurasian, Arabian and Indo-Australian tectonic plates meet and rub together, sometimes producing earthquakes.

More than 86,000 people were killed in northern Pakistan when a magnitude-7.6 quake hit in October 2005, according to the USGS Web site.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo at asheldrick@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 25, 2008 19:08 EST


Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aduwjHnZxIXg&refer=india