News Assignment 1

News Writing Assignment 1

PENANG- Earthquake struck Aleutian Island, causing the Penang society fearing aftershocks huddled in the dark and frigid streets of this mountain town wrapped in blankets on Sunday night, while others crowded inside its hospital, the only building left with electricity after a powerful earthquake left dozens of people missing.

The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center reported it measured 6.6 on Richter scale. The earthquake hit at 7.01pm, having the Aleutians sparsely settled. Also, the earthquake shook three Aleutian Island fishing villages, Nikolski, Dutch Harbo 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. There were no reports of injuries or any major damages.

Amongst the 20 aftershocks, one measured 5.0 on the scale, none was powerful enough to cause a tsumani, said the officials. Albeit, the earthquake of 6.6 magnitude can cause severe damage if it hits populated areas.

As said by George Carts, there was some very minor damage at Nikolski with items knocked off shelves and small items damaged. The aftershock of the earthquake was felt strongly in the towns of Unalaska, Dutch Harbor and Nikolski, said Cart. These fishing villages are located on western islands in the Aleutian chain.

The Richter scale measures groud motion and is recorded on seismographs. Each increase of one number means a tenfold increase in magnitude. For instance, 7.5 is 10 times greater than 6.5.