Strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocks Vanuatu

December 29th, 2010 - 2:25 pm ICT by BNO News  

ISANGEL, VANUATU (BNO NEWS) — A strong earthquake struck off Vanuatu on late Wednesday afternoon, seismologists said, but no tsunami warnings were issued.

The 6.6-magnitude earthquake at 5.54 p.m. local time (0654 GMT) was centered approximately 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Isangel, a city on the Vanuatu island of Tanna. It struck about 31 kilometers (19.3 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Other seismologists put the strength of the earthquake at 6.8 on the Richter scale. No tsunami warnings were issued, however, and there was no immediate word on if there were casualties on Vanuatu as a result of the earthquake.

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