
Strong earthquakes, cyclone rattle Vanuatu
PORT VILA, Vanuatu – Vanuatu declared a state of emergency Friday after back-to-back earthquakes struck as a second cyclone in as many days lashed the Pacific nation.
The 6.5-magnitude first quake struck at 1804 GMT off the island of Espiritu Santo in the north of the archipelago at a depth of 10 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
An aftershock with a magnitude of 5.4 rocked the island shortly after.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was “no tsunami threat” from the initial quake.
With Cyclone Kevin also raging, government spokesman Joe Harry Karu told AFP a state of emergency was de