October 21, 2015•Update: October 21, 2015
MELBOURNE, Australia
A strong 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Vanuatu in the South Pacific on Wednesday, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, but no tsunami warning was issued.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake hit 335 kilometers (207 miles) north of Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila.
The quake was at a depth of 117 kilometers.
In a statement, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said a “destructive pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii”.
Vanuatu and neighboring Solomon Islands sit on the Ring of Fire, an arc of faults in the Pacific that is the most seismic in the world.
