World

Monday, October 1, 2012, 11:31 GMT+7

7.1-magnitude earthquake hits southwest Colombia

7.1-magnitude earthquake hits southwest Colombia

A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck in the Andes mountains of south-west Colombia on Sunday, Colombian and US earthquake monitoring services reported.

The quake struck at 1631 GMT some 20 kilometres east of the Colombian town of La Vega and 326 kilometres north-east of Quito, Ecuador, said the US Geological Service, which monitors earthquakes worldwide.

In Colombia, the National Seismological Network reported the same magnitude and said the epicentre of the quake was 169 kilometres underground.

The director of Colombia’s disaster relief service, Carlos Ivan Marquez, said that so far there were only reports of minor damage to homes in one village.

In Colombia the quake was felt in 10 central and western provinces.

There was no tsunami alert.

The quake shook Ecuador’s capital Quito and other regions for about 30 seconds, and was felt particularly in tall buildings in the capital.

Radio stations in Ecuador interrupted their broadcasting to report on the quake, which also prompted many posts on Twitter.

Both Colombia and Ecuador are located in a region prone to seismic activity.

AFP

Comment (0)
thông tin tài khoản
(Tuoitre News gives priority to approving comments from registered members.)
Most Popular Latest Give stars to members