Abstract
THE United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, in co-operation with Science Service and the Jesuit Seismological Association, has determined the epicentre of the earthquake of August 12 to be provisionally latitude 13° S., longitude 169° E. The instrumental reports from Manila, Sitka, Weston, St. Louis, Fordham, Pasadena, Honolulu and Philadelphia also suggest that the depth of focus from which the shock originated was of the order of 150 km., thus making a deep focus earthquake. The epicentre is to the north of the New Hebrides and north-west of Fiji, being submarine in character. No damage has been reported, either directly due to the shock or to any abnormal sea waves. The region concerned is particularly liable to earthquakes and it is also noticeable that the frequency of earthquakes having deep focus is greater than normal in the whole of the region extending from Japan to the south of Fiji and including the area in question. A new Milne-Shaw seismograph and high-precision clock with seconds regulator have recently boon sent on loan to Fiji by the British Association Seismological Committee at the suggestion of the Seismological Committee of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science to replace the old Milne instrument there. This new seismograph will be particularly valuable for obtaining data for the study of deep focus earthquakes similar to the one mentioned above.
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Earthquake near the New Hebrides. Nature 144, 544 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144544a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144544a0