Magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Saturday. The quake, which struck at 3:55 a.m. local time on Sunday (12:55 p.m. EDT on Saturday), was centered 38 miles southwest of the town of Port-Vila and was quite shallow, at a depth of 25.2 miles.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the major quake had not triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami but said: “Earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers (80 miles) of the earthquake epicenter.”