Earthquakes, January-February, 1980

Two major earthquakes (magntidue 7.0-7.9) occurred during this reporting period. The first struck in the North Atlantic Ocean in the Azores Islands on News Year's Day, causing fatalities and damage. The second major quake was on February 24 in the sparsely populated Kuril Islands of the northwest Pacific. A magnitude (M) 6.9 earthuqkae occurred on January 2 in the Philippine Islands, and A M=6.5 quake was expereinced in the Macquarie Island region on February 7.

In the United States, California was seismically active; four moderate (M=5-5.9) earthquakes, two occuring on January 24 and one each on February 23 and 25, caused injuries and damage.