All tsunami warnings cancelled after major quake in south Pacific
May 28th, 2010 - 2:16 am ICT by BNO NewsNEW YORK (BNO NEWS) — A major earthquake struck off the Vanuatu Islands on early Friday, seismologists said, briefly causing tsunami warnings for nearby coasts.
The 7.2-magnitude earthquake at 4.14 a.m. local time (1714 UTC Thursday) was centered about 215 kilometers (135 miles) north-northwest of Luganville, a city on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu. It struck about 36.1 kilometers (22.4 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which initially measured the strength of the earthquake at 7.6, immediately issued a tsunami warning for the Solomon Islands, the Vanuatu Islands, and New Caledonia. It was later cancelled.
“Sea level readings do not show any tsunami signals,” the center said. “If a tsunami was generated it does not pose a threat to any areas outside the epicentral region.”
Two aftershocks were recorded soon after the initial earthquake. The first one, at 4.24 a.m. local time (1724 UTC Thursday), had a preliminary magnitude of 5.7. The second aftershock, at 4.45 a.m. local time (1745 UTC Thursday), had a preliminary magnitude of 5.2.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the earthquakes.
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Tags: aftershock, aftershocks, bno, coasts, earthquakes, espiritu santo, kilometers, luganville, magnitude earthquake, north northwest, pacific tsunami warning, pacific tsunami warning center, sea level, seismologists, shallow earthquake, solomon islands, tsunami warning center, tsunami warnings, u s geological survey, vanuatu islands