Magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes off Vanuatu

This handout photo taken and released on December 19, 2024 by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) shows Australian rescue workers at the site of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu. Overseas rescuers joined a hunt for survivors in the rubble of shattered buildings in earthquake-rocked Vanuatu, with officials saying the toll of nine dead is set to rise. (Photo by Handout  AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE  AFP)  RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT AFP PHOTO  AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
Vanuatu has experienced frequent earthquakes due to its location along the tectonic Ring of Fire. (AFP pic)

SYDNEY: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of South Pacific nation Vanuatu on Sunday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The tremor’s epicentre was about 56km northeast of the small coastal village of Port Olry, at a depth of 188km, according to the USGS.

There were no early reports of damage and Vanuatu’s natural hazards department did not immediately issue a tsunami warning.

Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago that straddles the tectonic Ring of Fire, an arc of seismic activity stretching through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Dozens of people were killed in Indonesia after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck early on Saturday, followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

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