Strong Earthquake in Hawaii

Strong quake knocks out power in Hawaii

A strong earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale struck off the west coast of Hawaii Island early Sunday morning, cutting power supply for many people on the island and causing damage to buildings.

The quake occurred at 7:07 a.m. local time (1607 GMT), some 16 km north-northwest of Kailua Kona, a town on the west coast of the Big Island, also known as the Hawaii Island, media reports said.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially recorded the earthquake as a 6.3 magnitude temblor.

The agency reported several aftershocks including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8, but it said there was no risk of a Pacific-wide tsunami except a possibility of significant wave activity in Hawaii.

No fatalities were reported in the quake so far, though scattered injuries were reported in hotels across the island.

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle issued a disaster declaration for the entire state. She said in a radio interview there had been no reports of deaths from the earthquake, but that there were damages to roads and buildings.

In the Oahu Island, where the state's capital Honolulu is located, power outrages hit most places there.

At Hale Manoa, which houses students of the East-West Center, a famous U.S. research institute, there was still no electricity but the access to the Internet remained workable, students there told Xinhua through e-mail, noting the access to phones was possible but difficult.

Power supply on Oahu is expected to resume island-wide later on Sunday, reported local newspaper Honolulu Advertise on its website.

On Hawaii Island, there was some damage in Kailua-Kona and landslide along a major highway, Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Center, was quoted as saying.

Reports said incoming flights to Hawaii were still allowed to land, but there were few departures, as workers of the Transportation Security Administration did not have enough electricity to power their equipment to screen passengers.

The earthquake on Sunday was said to be the strongest to have hit Hawaii since November 1983, when a magnitude 6.7 quake rocked Hawaii Island causing heavy property damage. Enditem