6.8 quake strikes ocean near Brazil

An earthquake measuring 6.8 has struck in the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of kilometres off the northern coast of Brazil and French Guiana, the US Geological Survey reports.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was a small possibility a local tsunami could hit coasts in countries within and bordering the Caribbean Sea, but ruled out "a destructive, widespread tsunami threat".

The quake struck at 0938 GMT, at a depth of 10 kilometres along the northern mid-Atlantic ridge.

Its epicentre was located 1,316 kilometres east-north-east of Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, and 1,530 kilometres north-north-east of the coastal city of Belem, in Para state, Brazil.

"A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said in a bulletin issued shortly after the quake.

"However, there is a small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a hundred kilometres from the earthquake epicentre."
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Earthquake Details
Magnitude 6.8
Date-Time
* Friday, February 08, 2008 at 09:38:14 UTC
* Friday, February 08, 2008 at 06:38:14 AM at epicenter
Location 10.703°N, 41.879°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
Distances 1530 km (950 miles) NNE of Belem, Para, Brazil