4.3-Magnitude Earthquake, Aftershock Hits Western Colorado

An earthquake struck near Parachute, Colorado, on the morning of Aug. 24, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake, a 4.3 on the Richter scale, hit about 30 miles northwest of Parachute, 24 miles south-southwest of White River City, 49 miles north of Grand Junction, and 181 miles west of Denver.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, an earthquake struck near Parachute, Colorado, on the morning of Aug. 24. (USGS)

Striking at a depth of about 3 miles, the tremor is considered shallow.

Robert Sanders, who is a geophysicist with the USGS in Golden, told The Denver Channel that it was a relatively shallow quake, but he stressed that it was centered in a remote, unpopulated area.

Western Slope Now reported that the 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit at 4:02 a.m. local time, and a 2.9-magnitude earthquake struck at 5:21 a.m. local time.

The USGS said that people felt the earthquake and its aftershock, The Denver Channel reported.

There were no reports of damage or injuries.

KUSA reported that a 3.2-magnitude earthquake also struck about 23 miles southwest of Trinidad, located near the New Mexico border, at around 1 a.m. local time.

On Aug. 18. an 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean near Tonga and Fiji. It was too deep to cause any damage, Reuters reported.

The quake was 347.7 miles below the Earth, which would have dampened the shaking at the surface. “I would not expect any damage. People will feel it but it’s so deep that I would not expect any damage,” USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley said, Reuters reported. The epicenter was located 167 miles east of Levuka in Fiji and 275 miles west of Neiafu in Tonga. And a tsunami warning was not issued due to the quake’s depth.

Reuters contributed to this report.