Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 9, 1993 TAG: 9308090053
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: AGANA, GUAM LENGTH: Medium
No deaths were reported on the west Pacific island and there were few serious injuries. The quake measured 8.1 to 8.2 on the Richter scale.
Two floors of the Royal Palm Hotel collapsed, and firefighters had to break down doors to free some guests, said Jon Anderson of radio station KGUM.
A garage roof collapsed at the Guam Reef Hotel. Firefighters searched crushed cars but found no one trapped.
The Talofofo Bridge collapsed and several others were declared unsafe, said Public Works Director Benigno Palomo.
The quake, in an area known for strong tremors, measured 8.1 on the Richter scale, said Frank Baldwin of the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. Suzanna Loper of the University of California Seismographic Station at Berkeley said the quake measured 8.2.
Several aftershocks were reported, the largest measuring 5.5, said Marvin Carlson of the earthquake center. More aftershocks were expected.
The minute-long quake struck around 6:35 p.m. (4:35 a.m. EDT Sunday). Its epicenter was 50 miles west-southwest of Agana, the capital.
Cars caught on bridges tumbled into rivers and there were reports of rock and land slides, said police Lt. Phil Dennis. Communication with the northern part of the island was difficult because of downed telephone poles.
Power was restored to the island's Tumon Bay resort and other areas, and was expected to be back for most of the island's 133,000 residents by daybreak today, said Civil Defense spokesman Carl Gumataotao.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which had been tracking Tropical Storm Steve and Typhoon Robyn, had to shut down after the earthquake damaged equipment, said Lt. Greg Salvato. An auxiliary center in Honolulu now is tracking the storms.
Tropical Storm Steve was lashing Guam with strong winds and heavy rain when the temblor hit. Steve, which has since passed Guam and the Northern Marianas, was expected to become a typhoon sometime Monday.
The last great earthquake was one measuring 8.2 in the Macquarie Islands in the South Pacific on May 23, 1989, said Stuart Koyanagi of the National Earthquake Information Center.
by CNB