A strong 6.2-magnitude quake struck near the Pacific island of Vanuatu on Wednesday, US seismologists said. No tsunami alert was issued.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck at 10:37pm (local time) at a depth of 54 kilometres, 142 kilometres south-southeast of Isangel, in the southern region of the Vanuatu archipelago.
Vanuatu, which lies between Fiji and Australia and north of New Zealand, is in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire known for its seismic and volcanic activity caused by friction between moving plates in the Earth’s crust.
