PORT VILA — A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake occurred at 02:21 UTC, 214 kilometres (133 miles) northwest of Port-Olry, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, according to the USGS, with the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reporting the same magnitude and depth. Qatar News Agency, carried by Fana News, also reported the 6.0 quake at the same location and depth.

Source: USGS via The Watchers

The 6.0 was the largest in a tight sequence: a magnitude 5.5 struck at 01:39 UTC about 221 kilometres northwest of Port-Olry, a 5.2 followed at 02:17 UTC, the 6.0 hit four minutes later, a 5.6 followed at 02:59 UTC about 174 kilometres northwest of Port-Olry, and a 5.0 was recorded at 04:31 UTC, The Watchers reported from USGS data. The epicentre area is offshore of Vanuatu's northern islands; the nearest settlements are Port-Olry (population about 1,951) and, further away, Luganville (about 13,397).

The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses, indicating a low likelihood of casualties and damage, and no tsunami threat was reported for the sequence in the USGS-based reports. Vanuatu, a volcanic archipelago on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where tectonic plates meet, records frequent strong earthquakes; a magnitude 6.2 quake struck the same coast last Sunday, QNA noted, and Awaaz Punjab reported Vanuatu quakes earlier this week as separate events.

What happens next is monitoring: seismologists typically watch for aftershocks after a shallow offshore sequence of this kind, and Vanuatu's authorities assess coastal villages even when the alert level is Green. No casualty or damage figures had been reported in the USGS, EMSC or QNA reports at the time of publication, and this story will be treated as updated only if officials report actual impact.