Magnitude 7 earthquake strikes Vanuatu region

An earthquake of magnitude 7 struck the Vanuatu region on Friday, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said, with a tsunami warning issued for coasts in the area.

The quake was at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles), GFZ said.

It earlier pegged the quake at a magnitude of 6.6.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the earthquake at 7.1 magnitude, with a depth of 48km.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said hazardous tsunami waves from the earthquake were possible within 300 km of the epicenter along the coasts of Vanuatu and New Caledonia. —Reuters