Wellington, December 17: A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Tuesday just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean, the USGS said. The quake occurred at a depth of 57 kilometers and was centred near Port Vila, the largest city in the island nation. Earthquake in Andaman Sea: Quake of Magnitude 4.7 on Richter Scale Hits Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It was not immediately clear whether it caused any damage. The jolt was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock at the same location. Vanuatu government websites were offline in the aftermath of the quake. The USGS warned of tsunami waves for some coasts on Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands that is home to about 330,000 people.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)