Magnitude 6.5 quake hits near Vanuatu, no damage

The Star Online (Link) (June 2, 2009)

A sharp 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Vanuatu group of islands in the South Pacific on Tuesday _ one of three to hit the area in 38 minutes - but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.

The first quake, at a depth of 24 miles, struck just 28 miles out at sea from the main island of Ifate and the capital, Port Vila, shortly after 1:17 p.m. local time (0217 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected from the temblor and no tsunami warning had been issued.

Nine minutes later a magnitude 5.6 quake struck 33 miles west of Port Vila at a depth of 22 miles. It was followed by a magnitude 5.2 temblor some 45 miles west of the capital, also at a depth of 22 miles. While all three were felt in the Port Vila area, police said they had no reports of injury or damage.

Vanuatu - a chain of 83 islands - lies just over 2,200 kilometers (1,400 miles) northeast of Sydney and in part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching from Chile in South America through Alaska and down through Vanuatu to Tonga in the South Pacific.