A strong magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the south Pacific island of Vanuatu around 7:32 AM eastern US time Sunday, at a shallow depth of only 6 miles. The quake hit at the entrance to Big Bay, and a Tsunami Alert was issued.
The map below which is scalable, shows the area where the quake struck:
Two aftershocks also struck, one at 8:24 and the other at 8:50 AM eastern US time as shown on the still image map below:
No word (yet) on damage or casualties.
Tsunami Threat Has Passed
From the National Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:
ZCZC
WEPA40 PHEB 081344
TSUPAC
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 3
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER HONOLULU HI
1343 UTC SUN JAN 8 2023
...PTWC FINAL TSUNAMI THREAT MESSAGE...
**** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE *****
THIS MESSAGE IS ISSUED FOR INFORMATION ONLY IN SUPPORT OF THE
UNESCO/IOC PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION SYSTEM AND IS
MEANT FOR NATIONAL AUTHORITIES IN EACH COUNTRY OF THAT SYSTEM.
NATIONAL AUTHORITIES WILL DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF
ALERT FOR EACH COUNTRY AND MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL OR MORE REFINED
INFORMATION.
**** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE *****
THE TSUNAMI FORECAST IS UPDATED IN THIS MESSAGE.
PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
---------------------------------
* MAGNITUDE 7.0
* ORIGIN TIME 1233 UTC JAN 8 2023
* COORDINATES 15.1 SOUTH 166.7 EAST
* DEPTH 10 KM / 6 MILES
* LOCATION VANUATU
EVALUATION
----------
* AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.0 OCCURRED IN
THE VANUATU ISLANDS AT 1233 UTC ON SUNDAY JANUARY 8 2023.
* BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA... THE TSUNAMI THREAT FROM THIS
EARTHQUAKE HAS NOW PASSED.
TSUNAMI THREAT FORECAST...UPDATED
---------------------------------
* THERE IS NO LONGER A TSUNAMI THREAT FROM THIS EARTHQUAKE.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
-------------------
* REMAIN OBSERVANT AND EXERCISE NORMAL CAUTION NEAR THE SEA.
OTHERWISE... NO ACTION IS REQUIRED.
POTENTIAL IMPACTS
-----------------
* MINOR SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS MAY OCCUR IN SOME COASTAL AREAS
NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
NEXT UPDATE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
--------------------------------------
* THIS WILL BE THE FINAL STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
NEW INFORMATION IS RECEIVED OR THE SITUATION CHANGES.
* AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE FROM THE U.S.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT
EARTHQUAKE.USGS.GOV.
* FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT MAY BE FOUND AT
WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.
* COASTAL REGIONS OF HAWAII... AMERICAN SAMOA... GUAM... AND
CNMI SHOULD REFER TO PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES
SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE PLACES THAT CAN BE FOUND AT
WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.
* COASTAL REGIONS OF CALIFORNIA... OREGON... WASHINGTON...
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA SHOULD ONLY REFER TO U.S.
NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES THAT CAN BE FOUND
AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.
$$
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