oregon earthquake

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An underwater earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on the Richter scale struck 240 km off the coast of Oregon at 5:37 p.m. Wednesday (0137 GMT Thursday), according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

"So far we have had no reports that the earthquake has even been felt," Bruce Presgrave of the USGS told KNX News, a radio channel in Oregon.

"The tsunami warning centers have not issued any warning for this event," he added.

The mechanism of this quake, the manner in which it shook, was horizontal, making it unlikely to produce a tsunami, according to Presgrave.

There is also no report of damage or casualty related to the quake.

An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 struck off the Oregon coast early Wednesday evening.

No tsunami warning was issued following the earthquake, which hit at 5:37 p.m. Following are the distances from nearby cities:

* 151 miles from Barview
* 151 miles from Bandon
* 153 miles from Winchester Bay
* 205 miles from Eugene
* 252 miles from Portland

According to Bill Steele with the University of Washington, although a 6.4 magnitude earthquake may sound alarming and is certainly not common in our area, this one is not expected to pose any problems.

"We would expect to see aftershocks, as you would in any crustal earthquake," he said. "Most of those are going to be so small they probably won't be reported by the National Earthquake Information Center. There may be larger ones, the largest expected would be somewhere around 5.5, and that certainly would be picked up and reported."