Tsunami Warning Canceled After 7.2 Quake Near Vanuatu

Authorities have canceled a tsunami warning following a a 7.2-magnitude earthquake near the coast of the South Pacific island republic of Vanuatu,. Earlier, the United States had issued a tsunami warning for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that sea level readings did not show any signs of an impending tsunami. "If a tsunami was generated, it does not pose a threat to any areas outside the epicentral region," it said in a bulletin sent out this afternoon.

The quake was centered about 300 miles northwest of Port Vila at a depth of 22 miles. It struck at 01:45:29 PM Eastern Time.

Vanuatu local authorities were checking for information on both the quake and the regional tsunami alert. So far, though, they had no further information, according to a police spokesman in Port Vila on the island of Efate.

According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, there is no immediate Tsunami risk to Hawaii.

In Japan, one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, police said there were no immediate reports of injury or damage from the quake.

"I would think any damage from a quake this size is unlikely,'' an official with the police, Shimpachi Higashizato, told the Associated Press.

See Also: Twitter Updates on the Quake

More to follow

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)