5.7-magnitude quake strikes off Vanuatu: USGS

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 SYDNEY: A moderate 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. Its epicentre was located 102 kilometres (64 miles) northwest of the capital Port-Vila at 06:42 am (0342 GMT), it said. The quake struck at a depth of 39 kilometres. No tsunami warning was immediately issued as a result of the tremor, which followed a series of huge quakes in mid-October that triggered a region-wide tsunami alert. The Pacific is still recovering from an 8.0-magnitude earthquake and huge tsunami that crashed into Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga on September 29, wiping out villages and resorts and killing 184 people.