A 7.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of the Vanuatu Islands on Tuesday, December 17, announced the USGS. The authorities consider the formation of a tsunami “possible”.
A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake was detected this Tuesday, December 17 off the coast of the Vanuatu Islands, announced the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS). The epicenter of the earthquake (initially measured at 7.4 magnitude) was recorded at a depth of 43 kilometers in the sea, just 30 kilometers west of the island nation's capital, Port-au-Prince. Villa.
Felt as far as New Caledonia
A magnitude 5.5 aftershock was measured six minutes after the first tremor. A tsunami warning has been issued for the island nation.
The earthquake was felt as far away as New Caledonia, report our colleagues from La1ère.
“Tsunami waves have been observed,” said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in a bulletin, which predicts the arrival of waves up to one meter high along certain coasts of Vanuatu.
Much smaller waves (around 30 centimeters according to the alert center) are also feared in Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
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