A 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the far Pacific on Friday, which caused small tsunami waves in Vanuatu. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center measured waves less than half a meter (1.5 feet) off Lenakel, a port town in the island nation. Smaller waves were also measured elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia.
Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office told people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground. They also advised people to listen to their radios for updates and take other precautionary measures. The U.S. Geological Survey stated that the quake’s epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands, southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand, and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific. It was 37 kilometers (23 miles) deep.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also warned that small waves were possible for Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Guam, and other Pacific islands. The area is part of the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency expects that coastal areas will experience strong and unusual currents with unpredictable surges at the shoreline. The agency advises people to take caution.
