Colombia Struck By 7.3-Magnitude Earthquake: No Reports of Death or Damages

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Colombia at about six miles west-northwest of the town San Agustin on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Authorities in Colombia announced that no reports of deaths or major damage were made.

USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso told NBC News, "The USGS has received lots of reports that the quake was felt, but no reports of damage or injuries."

According to the USGS, the earthquake struck at 11:31 a.m. local time at a depth of 104.6 miles. CNN affiliate Caracol Television reported that the quake was felt in Colombia's capital and largest city Bogota. The earthquake was also felt in neighboring Ecuador, but, according to NBC News, authorities reported no damages there.

Jaime Raigosa, coordinator of the National Seismological Network in Colombia, said, "So far there are no reports that there has been damage to any part of the country, only reports that it was felt. Fortunately, the quake was deep."

USGS reported that the quake occurred "as a result of normal faulting deep within the subducting Nazca slab." It added, "The event resulted from stresses generated by the slow distortion of the subducting plate as it descends through the mantle."

Deep earthquakes in the area of the September 30 earthquake are not uncommon, USGS reported. It stated that "there have been 13 similar events deeper than 100 km over the past 40 years, within 500 km of the September 30 2012 earthquake. The largest was a magnitude 7.1 earthquake at a depth of 206 km in August of 2010, 380 km to the south of the September 30 event."