Newswriting Assignment 1

ALUTIEN: A 6.6 magnitude strong earthquake hit Aleutian Islands on Sunday night at 7:01 p.m. PST reported by Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

There’s an epicenter in the North Pacific, about 40 miles east of the village of Nikolski and 850 miles southwest of Anchorage. It shook the three fishing villages which located on western islands in the Aleutian chain including Nikolski, Dutch Harbor and Unalaska for three minutes without injuries or major damage.

According to seismologist George Carts, the quake was felt strongly in the towns of Unalaska, and there was some minor damage at Nikolski, with items knocked off shelves and small items damaged.

The earthquake of 6.6 magnitudes 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.

After 20 aftershocks; one measured 5.0 on the scale. None was powerful enough to cause a tsunami, officials said and Aleutians are sparsely settled.


Official categories: 3.5 can cause slight damage; 4, can cause moderate damage; 5, is considerable damage; 6, can cause severe damage; 7, definitely a major earthquake which can cause widespread heavy damage; 8, consider as a great quake.