ANI
Updated At : 10:25 AM Dec 12, 2025 IST
North Pacific Ocean, December 12 (ANI): An earthquake measuring magnitude 6.8 struck in the North Pacific Ocean Friday morning, according to seismic data shared by the National Center for Seismology (NCS).
The quake occurred at 08:14:15 IST at a depth of approximately 40 km. In a post on X, the NCS said, “EQ of M: 6.8, On: 12/12/2025 08:14:15 IST, Lat: 40.95 N, Long: 142.95 E, Depth: 40 Km, Location: North Pacific Ocean.”
Earlier, on December 9, an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude struck the region at a depth of 80 km. The NCS post read, “EQ of M: 6.5, On: 09/12/2025 03:22:48 IST, Lat: 41.13 N, Long: 143.09 E, Depth: 80 Km, Location: North Pacific Ocean.”
The world’s greatest earthquake belt, the circum-Pacific seismic belt, is found along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where about 81 percent of the planet’s largest earthquakes occur. It is commonly called the “Ring of Fire,” according to the USGS.
This belt follows tectonic plate boundaries where oceanic plates subduct beneath other plates. Earthquakes in these subduction zones result from slip between plates and rupture within plates. Notable events in the circum-Pacific belt include the M9.5 Valdivia (Chile) earthquake of 1960 and the M9.2 Alaska earthquake of 1964.
Approximately 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire, and about 81% of the world’s largest earthquakes happen in this belt. There are an estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes worldwide each year; around 100,000 of those can be felt, and about 100 cause damage.
The Pacific Ring of Fire is roughly 40,000 km (25,000 mi) long and up to about 500 km (310 mi) wide, surrounding much of the Pacific Ocean. Its current configuration developed as present-day subduction zones formed over millions of years: initially by about 115 million years ago in South America, North America and Asia; then around 70 million years ago in Indonesia and New Guinea; and finally about 35 million years ago in New Zealand. (ANI)
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