Sydney: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast from the Pacific nation of Vanuatu late Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami warning for the region. “Tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to one metre above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Vanuatu,” the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said. Vanuatu is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide, and it experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Solomon Islands, a nearby island nation just north of Vanuatu, was in November hit with a strong 7.0 quake, though there were no reports of serious injuries or major structuraldamage. The coastal regions of Vanuatu and nearby Papua New Guinea was put on alert for tsunami waves of up to 30 centimetres (12 inches).

Source: The Nation January 09, 2023 00:45 UTC