Fiji was one of the Pacific Island Countries put on a tsunami watch after a magnitude 7.3 quake struck Vanuatu yesterday afternoon.
The earthquake — which struck at a depth of 46 kilometres — was recorded about 14 kilometres northwest of Port Vila.
In an update, the seismology department from Fiji’s Mineral Resources Department (MRD) said based on the available data, hazardous tsunami waves were forecasted.
A tsunami watch was put out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through its US Tsunami Warning System.
It said tsunami waves were forecast to be less than 0.3 metres for the coasts of Fiji, Kermadec Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna.
It urged government agencies to assess any risk in accordance with their own procedures and level of threat.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) had advised all members of the public to stay vigilant and avoid unnecessary travel to coastal areas until further notice.
The tsunami watch was later cancelled.
News of the quake came as Fiji’s seismology department yesterday announced that 20 quakes were recorded in the Northern Division over the past 24 hours.
The MRD stated that Fiji’s location on the Pacific Ring of Fire placed it between two major subduction zones — the Tonga Trench to the east and the New Hebrides Trench to the West.
According to the MRD, major fracture zones, such as the Fiji Fracture Zone and Hunter Fracture Zone, along with local faults like the Naqara and Suva Canyon faults, make the area prone to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes.
