Center Upgrades Quake Magnitude to 6.8
The National Earthquake Information Center at Golden, Colo., on Friday officially upgraded the magnitude of the Northridge earthquake to 6.8, although it noted that Caltech and the U.S. Geological Survey, using another magnitude measurement, are sticking with 6.7.
The Jan. 17 earthquake was initially listed at magnitude 6.6 by all three groups.
Geophysicist Willis Jacobs, a spokesman for the center, said it customarily determines magnitude through measuring surface waves from the earthquake as received by seismographic stations throughout the world.
“When asked for a single figure, we are now giving 6.8,” Jacobs said.
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