Its epicentre was located 98 kilometres south-southwest of the capital Port-Vila at 1815 GMT today, it said. The quake struck at a depth of 15 kilometres.
No tsunami warning was immediately issued as a result of the tremor. An 8.0-magnitude earthquake and huge tsunami crashed into Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga in September last year, wiping out villages and resorts and killing 184 people.
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