SYDNEY: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, just days after a deadly 7.3-magnitude quake hit near the same island in the Pacific archipelago.

The nation’s main island, Efate, is still reeling from the Tuesday quake, which killed 12 people as it toppled concrete buildings in the capital and set off landslides. The latest quake occurred at a depth of 40 kilometres (25 miles) and was located some 30 kilometres west of the capital Port Vila.

Unlike the earlier quake, no tsunami alerts were immediately triggered by the latest temblor, which struck at 2:30am (1530 GMT Saturday). Mobile networks remained knocked out from earlier in the week, making outside contact with Vanuatu difficult.

The first quake has damaged water supplies and resulted in halted operations at the capital’s main shipping port. The South Pacific nation declared a seven-day state of emergency and a night-time curfew following the first quake, and had only announced it would lift a suspension on commercial flights, in an effort to restart its vital tourism industry.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024