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No tsunami threat after South Pacific and Colombia quakes


A 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck in Colombia early this morning poses no tsunami threat to Hawaii

Two separate strong earthquakes that struck an ocean apart in the South Pacific and in Colombia this morning pose no tsunami threat to Hawaii, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Santa Cruz islands at 11:02 a.m. Hawaii time. That’s the same area where an 8.0 earthquake caused a local tsunami earlier this week. There have been a number of aftershocks since then.

Scientists at the warning center said there is no danger of a Pacific-wide tsunami from Saturday’s earthquake. 

Another temblor struck at at 4:16 a.m. Hawaii time, centered 3 miles northeast of Yacuanquer, Colombia at a depth of 95.6 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. No tsunami was generated from the Colombia quake.

The temblor sent frightened people fleeing into the streets, but no serious injuries or major damage were reported.

The quake was felt in the Colombian capital of Bogota, some 340 miles to the northeast, and across much of neighboring Ecuador.

In the province of Narino, where the quake hit, secretary of government Jaime Rodriguez said officials had reports of three people hurt when roof tiles fell in the town of El Charco along the Pacific Coast. Officials in Ecuador also reported no significant damage.

Colombian television showed people fleeing into the streets of southwestern cities such as Cali, and small cracks in the walls of some buildings.

Mayor Paulo Cesar Rodriguez of the town of Tuquerres near the epicenter said the quake was "very strong and felt for a long time" but that there were no reports of injuries in the town of 42,300.

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