© USGSThe point where the earthquake struck.
Quake measured at a depth of 617 km, according to the US Geological Survey
A major undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck southeast of the Philippines on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake was measured at a depth of 617 km (380 miles), the USGS said. It struck in the Celebes Sea and comes five days after a smaller, 4.7-magnitude tremor in the same area, according to the USGS.
Journalist Barnaby Lo said he felt "no significant tremor" on the island of Jolo, which lies north-east of the epicentre. The US Tsunami Warning Centre has issued no warning, advisory, watch or threat after the quake.
Philippine seismologists said the earthquake was far too deep to cause any damage and casualties or generate a tsunami.
Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told AP that the quake, which was set off by movement of oceanic plates 625 kilometers (387 miles) under the seabed, was slightly felt in southern General Santos city.
Solidum said the undersea quake was centered 223 kilometers (138 miles) southeast of Sulu province and aftershocks were possible.
The Philippine archipelago lies in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where earthquakes and volcanic activities are common. A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people on the northern island of Luzon in 1990.
Sources: Reuters/AP
Forecast by Dutchsince:
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The depth of the M7.3 is of particular concern... measuring in at over 610km deep.
Deep earthquakes usually lead to shallower larger earthquakes which strike the "silent zone fulcrum points" on every side of the deep event.
Thus Japan, Papua New Guinea (solomon sea), and Indonesia all three need to be warned, and all three will be hit by larger activity (larger than anything we've seen in the past several weeks). This could reach above M6.5 in several locations.
The larger earthquakes could go a full 1-2 magnitudes LARGER than the deep M7.3 - thus making the potential for a very large earthquake (M8.3 to M9.3) much greater than "normal".
The larger earthquakes, if they occur, should strike to the West of the Deep earthquake with additional pressure fanning out across the area to the North and slightly East as far as Papua New Guinea.
This is the largest deep earthquake we've seen in years, which means the whole Pacific plate is about to be displaced (is being displaced). Areas such as the West coast of the United States (Eureka to Cleft Segment) should be on heightened alert for the potential for up to M6.8 to M7.0 .
Midwest USA should be on watch after California - watch for midrange M5.0 or swarms = to this. Could be swarms of 3's mixed with a few midrange M4.0 earthquakes, but more likely something larger.
This week is going to be a week of displacement around the planet.. all the way to Europe and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
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