A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck in the South Pacific off Vanuatu at 11:47 UTC on Sunday, November 1, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The epicentre was about 165 km (103 miles) northwest of Port-Olry, on the island of Espiritu Santo, at a shallow depth of 10.0 km (6.2 miles).

Source: USGS via The Watchers

The USGS issued a green alert for the quake, indicating a low likelihood of casualties or damage, and put the maximum estimated shaking intensity at IV — light shaking. The USGS event record (us7000tupl) lists the quake as a moment-magnitude 6.0 whose solution was reviewed by a seismologist, with coordinates of 14.169 degrees south and 165.824 degrees east.

Source: USGS event record via Terremoto

There was no tsunami threat associated with the earthquake, based on its location and the available data, The Watchers reported, and no tsunami warning, watch or advisory was issued. No felt reports had been received in the first reports, and no casualties or damage had been reported as of the first USGS-based summaries.

Sunday's quake was the strongest in an active offshore sequence northwest of Port-Olry on the same day: the USGS also recorded a magnitude 5.4 quake about 203 km northwest of Port-Olry at 06:26 UTC and a magnitude 5.1 at 07:00 UTC, all at a shallow depth of about 10 km. The same offshore zone produced a magnitude 6.0 earthquake on October 28 as part of a continuing swarm.

Vanuatu, a volcanic archipelago in the South Pacific, lies along the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where tectonic plates meet and strong earthquakes are frequent. Because Sunday's epicentre was well offshore and the USGS expected little impact, officials had announced no evacuations or emergency measures in the first reports; the USGS data may still be revised as seismologists review it.