Federal officials were assessing possible tsunami threats to the US and Canada after a massive earthquake hit an area southeast of the Loyalty Islands near Australia on Wednesday morning.
The ChronicleFederal officials said a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday morning east of Australia posed no threat to the west coast after reviewing the available data.
The earthquake, which occurred in an area southeast of the Loyalty Islands, was measured at a depth of just over 6 miles below the ocean’s surface, according to the US Geological Survey.
Shortly after the earthquake was recorded, officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there was “no tsunami warning, advice, watch, or threat” to California, Oregon, Washington State, Alaska and British Columbia, Canada.
However, NOAA issued a tsunami warning for the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu and for Fiji.
At least four other moderate earthquakes struck near the Loyalty Islands on Wednesday, data from the USGS shows, each measuring around 6 in size.
Dominic Fracassa is a staff writer at San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @dominicfracassa