An earthquake with a strong 7.2 magnitude hit off the remote South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu early Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said.
The undersea quake struck 45 kilometres (30 miles) east of the town of Luganville on Espiritu Santo, one of the islands that make up Vanuatu, the US Geological Survey said.
It struck at 4:08 am (1708 GMT) at a depth of 172 kilometres, it said.
The quake was 245 kilometres northwest of the capital Port Vila.
No tsunami warning was immediately issued.
The Hong Kong Observatory measured the quake at 7.4 on the Richter scale.
