7.5 Magnitude Quake Strikes Off Vanuatu

A major 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there was no immediate tsunami warning issued.

The quake struck at 3:55 am (1655 GMT Saturday) at a depth of 40 kilometers, around 60 kilometers south of Port Vila, the capital of the island nation.

A powerful aftershock measuring 7.0-magnitude struck the same area around an hour later. The quake struck at a shallow depth of two kilometers, 68 kilometers south of the capital.

There was no tsunami warning in effect on the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center website and there were no immediate reports of damage.

A bulletin on the center’s website said there was "no destructive widespread tsunami threat" but added that localized tsunamis can be generated by major earthquakes within a hundred kilometers of the quake epicenter.

Vanuatu lies on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a zone of frequent seismic activity caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates.