Vanuatu
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A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 has struck the Vanuatu Islands, seismologists say. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties but a tsunami alert has been issued for the islands.

The earthquake, which struck at 6:33 a.m. local time on Friday, was centered about 31 kilometers (19.3 miles) east-southeast of Lakatoro, or 182 kilometers (113 miles) northwest of the capital Port-Vila. It struck at a shallow depth.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which measured the earthquake at a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, issued a tsunami alert for Vanuatu. "Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 km of the epicenter along the coasts of Vanuatu," it said.

Other details were not immediately available.

Vanuatu is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. On average, the island nation and the surrounding waters are struck by about three powerful earthquakes every year. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

In August 2011, two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.1 and 7.4 on the Richter scale struck about 63 kilometers (39 miles) south-southwest of Port-Vila. Tsunami waves of up to 1.05 meter (3.4 feet) were observed on the island of Efate, but there were no reports of damage.