An earthquake of magnitude 6 rocked the waters west of the island of Melampa, in the center of the archipelago of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, without having been declared tsunami alert or damage reported.
The US Geological Survey, which tracks seismic activity worldwide, placed the hypocenter to 4 kilometers deep in the sea and 32 kilometers southwest of the town of Lakatoro, in that island.
The quake 184 kilometers northwest of Port Vila, the capital and most populous country, located on the island of Efate city was recorded.
Vanuatu is located near the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire" and submarine volcanoes Lau Basin, so usually recorded seismic shocks origin.
The Republic of Vanuatu, with about 250,000 inhabitants, is made up of an archipelago of volcanic origin.