<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast from the Pacific nation of Vanuatu late Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami warning for the region.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The shallow quake hit around 11:30 pm local time (1230 GMT) around 27 kilometres (17 miles) deep, said the USGS, which placed it about 25 kilometres from the village of Port-Olry.</div><div><br></div><div>"Tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to one metre above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Vanuatu," the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said.</div><div><br></div><div>Waves smaller than 0.3 metres were possible for New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, it added.</div><div><br></div><div>Vanuatu is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide, and it experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.</div><div><br></div><div>Solomon Islands, a nearby island nation just north of Vanuatu, was in November hit with a strong 7.0 quake, though there were no reports of serious injuries or major structural damage.</div><div><br></div><div>Eyewitnesses reported violent shaking that hurled items to the ground and knocked out power in parts of the capital Honiara.</div><div><br></div><div>The coastal regions of Vanuatu and nearby Papua New Guinea was put on alert for tsunami waves of up to 30 centimetres (12 inches). - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>