There is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Vanuatu.
The National Emergency Management Agency has assessed the information with the assistance of scientific advisors.
Based on current information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to have caused a tsunami that will pose a threat to New Zealand.
The large quake was at a depth of 10km, about 37km from Vanuatu capital Port Vila the United States Geological Survey said.
The US Tsunami National Warning Centre says tsunami waves of 0.3 to one metre above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Vanuatu.
Waves of less than 0.3 metres above the tide level have also been forecast for Fiji, the Kermadec Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna.
Initial images show some damage to buildings in Port Vila, including to the building housing the NZ, French, US and UK embassies.
A journalist in Port Vila says the magnitude 7.3 earthquake was violent and lasted about 30 seconds.
Dan McGarry posted on X that the earthquake, which struck just before 3pm, had a high frequency vertical shake which was unusual for Vanuatu.
He described it on X as “30 seconds in objective time. About a century in subjective time”.
He says his wife could see a large landslide, and sirens were going off.
More to come…
– RNZ/Reuters
