A major earthquake hit the Pacific nation of Vanuatu early on Friday, briefly prompting a tsunami warning that was cancelled after locals reported no significant damage.
The United States Geological Survey said the 7.0-magnitude quake – originally reported as 7.3 – struck at a relatively shallow depth of 35 kilometres (21 miles) some 209 kilometres from the capital Port Vila.
The National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) initially warned the quake, which hit at 1933 Thursday GMT, could generate waves of up to three metres (10 feet) on parts of the Vanuatu coast.
Within two hours it had cancelled the alert, saying “there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake”.
A series of tremors have been recorded in the region this month, including a 6.9 magnitude one, also close to Espiritu Santo island. No damage was reported from any of them.

Source: Telegraph