What you need to know about earthquakes
Every year, there are about 500,000 earthquakes – 100,000 of which can be felt on the Earth’s surface. But how do earthquakes work? We explain.
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Earthquake hits New York area: Click here for coverage of the 4.8 magnitude temblor that hit New York-New Jersey on Friday morning
A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the Mariana Islands Friday morning, the United States Geological Survey is reporting.
The notable quake was recorded just after 6 a.m. local time (4 p.m. ET Thursday), according to the USGS, in the Maug Islands region near Saipan, the northern-most largest of the Mariana Island.
The Mariana Islands are in the western Pacific Ocean north of the equator, northeast of Guam and are part of the United States.
It was not immediately known if anyone was injured.
But as of late Friday morning no tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat had been issued in the area by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or National Weather Service.
Earthquake registered 132 miles deep
Data provided by USGS showed the earthquake registered about 132 miles deep.
According to the USGS forecast, at least one aftershock is expected to take place within the next week.
Fact check: Weather Service evaluated risk of tsunami on West Coast, didn’t issue warning
Tremblor follows notable 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan
The tremblor comes just two days after Taiwan was struck by a massive earthquake, its strongest in 25 years.
The earthquake, registered by USGS as a 7.4 magnitude shocker, took place just before 8 a.m., and as of Thursday had killed nine people and injured more than 1,000 .
Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines all issued and then canceled tsunami warnings after the quake, though several small tsunami waves were reported in Okinawa, Japan.
Contributing: John Bacon and Jeanine Santucci
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.