Strong magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits Vanuatu
A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck Vanuatu's Erromango island in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It said the quake struck the center of the island, Vanuatu's fourth largest, at 7:09am local time and was fairly deep at 200km, which would have dampened its effect.
The 6.4 magnitude quake struck Vanuatu on Thursday. Source: USGS
Erromango has a population of just under 2,000 people.
Children trapped in school rubble send desperate text messages for help after Mexico earthquake
Earthquake hits Japan off coast of Fukushima nuclear plant
The US National Weather Service tweeted that there was no threat of a tsunami to the Pacific nation following a spate of seismic activity around the Pacific region.
“Based on all available data a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii,” the tweet read.
A number of large tremors have been recorded around the volatile Pacific rim, otherwise known as the 'Ring of Fire'. Source: USGS
The Vanuatu archipelago, east of Australia in the Pacific Ocean, is in the so-called Ring of Fire and is prone to earthquakes.
The shock followed a busy 36 hours, with a 6.1 quake off the coast of Japan on Thursday morning, a 5.8 quake off New Zealand's South Island on Wednesday.
Mexico is still dealing with the devastation caused by a 7.1 magnitude quake that has so far claimed the lives of 217 people and demolished several dozen buildings in its capital.
A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck Vanuatu's Erromango island. Photo: US Geological Survey
