Tsunami warning lifted after earthquake off Vanuatu

SYDNEY: A tsunami warning has been lifted after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu on Saturday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

The earthquake's magnitude was revised to 6.9, down from an earlier estimate of 7.2, the centre said in an update.

Vanuatu's Geological Hazards Department had earlier issued a warning urging people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground.

The quake's epicentre was about 200km north-west of Port-Olry on the island of Santo, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which also reported a second nearby quake of magnitude 6.3.

Vanuatu's former prime minister Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau wrote on Facebook that aftershocks were continuing. He counted five quakes on Saturday and urged residents to "be safe" and check apps regularly.

Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago that straddles the tectonic Ring of Fire, an arc of seismic activity stretching through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.