A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck offshore Vanuatu on Wednesday, recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey at 14:35 UTC, 207 kilometres west-northwest of Port-Olry at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres.
The quake was classed as light, and there were no USGS impact alerts associated with it. Its epicentre, at approximately 14.0 degrees south and 165.5 degrees east, sits in the same active island arc that produced a strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake near Vanuatu early on October 20, for which the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported no tsunami threat.
Vanuatu lies on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' where the Australian and Pacific plates meet, and clusters of moderate quakes around a larger event are common as the crust adjusts. Wednesday's smaller tremors also included a magnitude 5.2 event northeast of Cabatuan in the Philippines and a magnitude 5.1 quake south of Africa, both at about 10 km depth, per USGS data.
Authorities in Vanuatu had issued no damage reports in connection with the 4.9 event at the time of publication. Disaster officials routinely remind coastal residents in the archipelago to know their nearest high ground, since shallow offshore quakes in the region can, in stronger cases, generate local tsunami risk.
