WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific on Tuesday, the USGS said.
The quake struck at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was located 30 kilometers (10 miles) west of Port Vila, the island nation’s largest city. The shock was followed by a 5.5 magnitude aftershock near the same location.
It was not immediately clear whether any damage was caused, but Vanuatu’s government websites were offline after the earthquake and phone numbers for the police and other public agencies were not connected.
The USGS reported tsunami waves along the coast of Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands home to about 330,000 people. Waves could reach 0.3 meters to 1 meter (1 to 3 feet) above the tide level, the agency said.
Some of the nation’s low-lying atoll islands are less than 3 feet above sea level.
The USGS also warned that tsunami waves are being recorded less than 0.3 meters above the high tide level in some nearby Pacific islands including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.
