Newswriting Assignment

Earthquake Story

By Lee Kwan Li

ALASKA  : A strong earthquake of 6.6 Richter scale had hit Aleutian Island at Sunday night and there is no reports of injuries or major damage.

            The strong earthquake hit at 7:01 p.m. PST. The earthquake had shook three Aleutian Island fishing villages, Nikolski , Dutch Harbor and Unalaska for three minutes.  The epicenter in the North Pacific about 40 miles east of the village of Nikolski and 850 miles southwest of Anchorage.        

            According to Alaska Tsunami Warning Center , it was reported the strong earthquake happened in Aleutian Islands measured 6.6 on Richter Scale. George Carts , who is a seismologist at the center , said the quake was felt strongly in the towns of Unalaska , Dutch Harbor and Nikolski. These three fishing villages are located on western islands in the Aleutian chain. "There was some very minor damage at Nikolski, with items knocked off shelved and small items damaged.", said by Carts.

            Earthquake of 6.6 magnitude can cause severe damage if it hits populated areas. There are 20 aftershocks and one measured 5.0 on the scale. None was powerful enough to cause a tsunami, officials said. Aleutians are sparsely settled.

            Richter scale measures ground motion and is recorded on seismographs. Official categories of Richter scale are : 3.5 can cause slight damage; 4, moderate damage; 5, considerable damage; 6, severe damage; 7, major earthquake, can cause widespread heavy damage; 8, great quake. Each increase of one number means a tenfold increase in magnitude; example, 7.5 is 10 times greater than 6.5.