news writing assignment

ALUTIEN ISLAND: A 6.6 magnitude earthquake, about 40 miles east of the village of Nikolski and 850 miles southwest of Anchorage reported by Alaska Tsunami Warning Center at 7:01 p.m. PST on Sunday night.

The quake shook three fishing villages including Nikolski, Dutch Harbor and Unalaska for three minutes without causing injuries or major damage.

According to seismologist George Carts from Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, the quake was felt strongly on western islands in the Aleutian chain, resulting minor damage at Nikolski, with items knocked off shelves and small items damaged.

“There were 20 aftershocks; one measured 5.0 magnitudes on the scale. However, none was powerful enough to cause a tsunami,” officials said and Aleutians are sparsely settled.

Earthquake of 6.6 magnitude can cause severe damage if it hits populated areas.

Richter scale measures ground motion and is recorded on seismographs; each increase of one number means a tenfold increase in magnitude; example, 7.5 is 10 times greater than 6.5.

Official categories of earthquake measurements in magnitude: 3.5 can cause slight damage; 4.0 can cause moderate damage; 5.0 can cause considerable damage; 6.0 can cause severe damage; 7.0 can cause major earthquake and widespread heavy damage; 8.0 are considered as great quake.