6.3-Magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu, says US Agency
This screengrab taken from handout video footage posted on the Facebook account of Michael Thompson on December 17, 2024 shows a member of security inspecting a collapsed building in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila after a powerful earthquake hit the Pacific island. - The 7.3-magnitude quake struck on December 17 at a depth of 57 kilometres (35 miles), some 30 kilometres off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu's main island, at 12:47 pm (0147 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey. (Photo by MICHAEL THOMPSON / Fac
A shallow 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The tremor’s epicentre was about 110 kilometres (68 miles) east of Luganville, the Pacific island nation’s second-largest city, the monitor said.
The risk of landslides and the number of people exposed were low, it said in an assessment.
Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago that straddles the tectonic Ring of Fire, an arc of seismic activity stretching through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
