A 7.7 magnitude earthquake, detected near the Loyalty Islands in the distant Pacific. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre warned that waves up to 3 metres (10 feet above tides) might hit Vanuatu. While lesser waves could hit Fiji, New Caledonia, Kiribati, and New Zealand. According to numerous sources, the tremor caused modest tsunami waves in Vanuatu.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake in the far Pacific on Friday causes modest tsunami waves in Vanuatu.
According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, the waves of less than half a metre (1.5 feet) were measured off the island nation’s port town of Lenakel. Smaller waves are there in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office recommended residents evacuate to higher ground from coastal areas. Moreover, people should listen to their radios for updates and take other precautions, according to the office.
The National Emergency Management Agency of New Zealand predicted high and unusual currents together. With unpredictable surges along the shoreline.
Also predicted smaller waves for Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Guam, and other Pacific islands, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.
The epicentre of the quake is near the Loyalty Islands, southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand, and east of Australia, according to the US Geological Survey. It went down 37 kilometres (23 miles).
The region is part of the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults that circles the Pacific Ocean. And is the epicentre of the majority of the world’s earthquakes.
“Ring of Fire”
The Ring of Fire is also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt, Circum-Pacific Volcano Belt, or Pacific Ring of Fire. It is a long horseshoe-shaped seismically active belt. That encircles the Pacific basin and contains earthquake epicentres, volcanoes, and tectonic plate boundaries.
The majority of Earth’s volcanoes and earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. Which is home to 75% of the world’s active volcanoes.
Plate tectonics, specifically the movement, collision, and destruction of lithospheric plates beneath and around the Pacific Ocean. Which has resulted in the Ring of Fire.