ANI Updated At: 10:25 AM Dec 12, 2025 IST. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the North Pacific Ocean Friday morning, the National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported. The quake occurred at 08:14:15 IST on 12/12/2025 at an estimated depth of 40 km, with coordinates 40.95 N, 142.95 E. In a post on X, the NCS provided the bulletin: ‘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 this month, on December 9, the same region experienced a magnitude 6.5 event at 03:22:48 IST, recorded at 41.13 N, 143.09 E and a depth of about 80 km; the NCS reported that event as ‘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.’ Both quakes occurred in the circum-Pacific seismic belt, commonly known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which follows tectonic plate boundaries around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Geological Survey notes that roughly 90% of the world’s earthquakes and about 81% of the largest quakes occur in this zone. The Ring of Fire extends roughly 40,000 km and can be up to about 500 km wide. Its present configuration formed over millions of years, with major subduction zones developing about 115 million years ago in South America, North America and Asia, around 70 million years ago in Indonesia and New Guinea, and about 35 million years ago in New Zealand. Historical megaquakes in the belt include the M9.5 Valdivia (Chile) earthquake of 1960 and the M9.2 Alaska earthquake of 1964. Globally there are an estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes each year; about 100,000 are strong enough to be felt and roughly 100 cause damage. This report is sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received; the Tribune assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.
