6.5 earthquake shudders island-nation Vanuatu,tsunami fears?

Sydney, Mar 17: When Japan is still reeling under the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country, there was nature's fury elsewhere in the world when a earthquake of 6.5 magnitude struck the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu today (Mar 17).

The earthquake did not have any devastating results but have caused panic among public. The US Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed that there was no tsunami threat. But the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in a bulletin said that the shallow quake could have the potential to generate a local tsunami and warned residents to be wary.

The Centre added, “No destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicentre."

The quake hit 77 kilometers northwest of the nation's capital Port Vila at 1:48pm local time. Cedric Kapen, duty manager of a local resort in Port Vila was quoted as saying, “We felt the quake but it wasn't too strong, we are used to them." Vanuatu is placed on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," that is seismically-active and that also led to the mass destruction in Japan.

OneIndia News