Strong earthquake rattles homes on Vanuatu, causes no damage

[News_Editor]

Strong earthquake rattles homes on Vanuatu, causes no damage

2011-09-05 07:00:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

ISANGEL (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off the island nation of Vanuatu on early Monday morning, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties. It comes less than a day after a powerful earthquake struck the same area.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake at 8.44 a.m. local time (2144 GMT Sunday) was centered about 73 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Isangel, a city on the Vanuatu island of Tanna. It struck about 59.4 kilometers (36.9 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but the USGS estimated that some 66,000 people may have felt light to moderate shaking. No tsunami warnings were issued by either the Vanuatu or the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Vanuatu is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

On Sunday morning, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck about 122 kilometers (75 miles) south-southeast of Isangel. It came two weeks after two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.1 and 7.4 on the Richter scale also struck the region, generating a small tsunami but causing no casualties.

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