Vanuatu Archipelago Rocked by 7.8 Earthquake, Triggers Regional Tsunami Alert

The South Pacific near the Vanuatu archipelago was rocked by a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake Thursday morning. It has triggered a regional tsunami alert. The quake struck 183 miles northwest of the Vanuatu island of Santo and 354 miles northwest of the capital of Port Vila, at a depth of 21 miles. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a regional tsunami alert for 11 nations and territories including Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Fiji and Kiribati. A tsunami watch was in effect as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

There are no immediate reports of injury or damage from officials in Vanuatu, which comprises of 83 islands. This latest quake comes two weeks after the 8.3 magnitude earthquake that rocked the South Pacific, wreaking widespread damage on the Samoan islands, causing the deaths of 178 people and devastating coastal villages.

Separately, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a strong earthquake struck south of the Philippines on Thursday morning local time. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale and was located in the Celebes Sea, which is 175 miles south of Manila. No injuries have been reported thus far.