A magnitude 6.5 tremor was detected on Thursday off the Pacific island state of Vanuatu but no tsunami warning was issued, according to the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS).
The earthquake occurred at 6:04 p.m. local time, 10 kilometers deep under the sea, off the large island of Espiritu Santo and 82 kilometers southwest of the village of Port-Olry, specifies the USGS.
A 5.4 magnitude aftershock then struck northeast of the first quake, this time underground, according to the same source.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said in a statement that there was no tsunami warning after the first tremor.
Frequent seismic activity
A magnitude 7 quake was detected off Vanuatu in early January, according to the USGS, this time triggering a tsunami warning in the region.
Vanuatu, which is part of the Pacific “
Ring of Fire
” where tectonic plates collide, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
The Solomon Islands, north of Vanuatu, was hit by a powerful magnitude 7 earthquake in November 2022, which caused no casualties or serious damage.
Witnesses had nevertheless reported that the tremors had thrown televisions and other objects to the ground, while power cuts had affected the capital of the Solomon Islands, Honiara.
The coastal regions of Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea had been placed on tsunami alert.