A tsunami warning has been alerted for the region. (File)Frightened villagers fled to higher ground fearing a tsunami when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck late Sunday just off the coast of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. A tsunami warning was initially issued for Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands but cancelled about an hour and a half after the quake. "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. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami on Indonesia's Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

Source: Daily Nation January 08, 2023 17:19 UTC