The World - News from June 19, 1988

A strong earthquake hit Mexico’s Gulf of California shortly before 4 p.m., but no significant injuries or damage were immediately reported. The U.S. Geological Survey said that its monitoring center in Golden, Colo. measured the quake at 6.6 on the Richter scale. The temblor was centered in the middle of the gulf--also known as the Sea of Cortez--about 80 miles south of the city of Guaymas, the agency said. “It’s in an area where it’s not likely to do any damage,” said Russ Needham, a geophysicist with the USGS’s National Earthquake Information Center. “If it had occurred near a city, it could have done quite a bit of damage.” The Oct. 1 Whittier earthquake that caused extensive damage in the Los Angeles area registered 5.9 on the Richter scale.