Quake of 6.7 magnitude hits near Vanuatu

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A strong earthquake of 6.7
magnitude hit 50 miles from the largest island of Vanuatu at
9:18 a.m. local time on August 8 (2218 GMT August 7), the U.S.
Geological Survey reported on Monday.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that there was no
Pacific Ocean-wide tsunami threat, even with their higher
initial reading of a 7.0 magnitude.

“However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local
tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a
100 kilometers (60 miles) of the earthquake epicenter,” the
Hawaii-based agency said in a bulletin.

The depth of the quake near the Pacific Island nation in a
preliminary USGS report was nearly 150 km (93 miles). The quake
was measured at 50 miles from Luganville, Vanuatu’s second
largest town on the island of Espiritu Santo.