[ad_1] A tsunami warning has been issued for the island nations of Vanuatu and New Caledonia after an earthquake rocked the South Pacific on Thursda
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A tsunami warning has been issued for the island nations of Vanuatu and New Caledonia after an earthquake rocked the South Pacific on Thursday evening.
The quake hit at a depth of 48 kilometres about 123 kilometres south of the town of Isangel on one of Vanuatu’s southernmost islands and 338 kilometres from its capital, Port Vila, according to the United States Geological Survey.
It measured 7.3-magnitude on the Richter scale.
Warnings were issued both for Vanuatu and its closest neighbour, New Caledonia.
Both nations are located some 3200 kilometres east of Australia.
“Hazardous waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 kilometres of the epicentre along the coasts of Vanuatu and New Caledonia,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people that straddles the seismic Ring of Fire.
The Ring of Fire is an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Vanuatu is ranked as one of the countries most susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes, storm damage, flooding and tsunamis, according to the annual World Risk Report.
— With AFP.
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