A shallow magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu on Thursday, hitting 244 kilometres north of the capital Port-Vila at a depth of just 10 kilometres, according to seismic monitoring data.
The quake registered severe shaking of Modified Mercalli intensity VIII near the epicentre, with an estimated 80,000 people exposed to the tremors. Tsunami risk was assessed as low, and the U.S. Geological Survey's fatality and economic impact models both came back green, indicating a low likelihood of major damage or loss of life.
Vanuatu was not alone: a magnitude 5.5 quake struck in the Sulawesi Sea near General Santos in the Philippines on Thursday afternoon, and a magnitude 5.1 deep earthquake was recorded off Labasa, Fiji. No casualty reports have emerged from any of the three events.
The Pacific Ring of Fire remains one of the most seismically active regions on earth, and Thursday's cluster is a reminder of how quickly multiple nations in the region can feel the ground move in a single day.
