7.2-magnitude earthquake hits southwest of Guam

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A major 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck southwest of U.S. territory Guam on Saturday local time, the United States Geological Survey reported on its website.
    The quake occurred at 7:19 a.m. on Saturday local time (2119 GMT on Friday), 375 km (230 miles) southwest of Hagatna (formerly Agana), capital of Guam, at a depth of 4.7 km (2.9 miles), the USGS said.
    The Hawaii-based Pacific（和平的，平静的） Tsunami¹ Warning Center said that, based on historical（历史的） earthquake and tsunami data, no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists.
    "However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis² that can be destructive along coasts within 100 km of the earthquake epicenter. Authorities in the region of the epicenter should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action," the center said.
    Guam is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. It is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States and one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian³ government.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。