{"id":372971,"date":"2026-03-30T12:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/372971\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T12:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:58:09","slug":"huge-magnitude-7-3-earthquake-strikes-australias-neighbour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/372971\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes Australia&#8217;s neighbour"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\">By DAILY MAIL REPORTER <\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"> Published:  06:40 EDT, 30 March 2026   |  Updated:  06:41 EDT, 30 March 2026   <\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">A large magnitude 7.3 <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/earthquakes\/index.html\" id=\"mol-9b511040-2c21-11f1-b575-49af2601aebb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">earthquake<\/a> has struck the idyllic Pacific nation of Vanuatu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The US Geological Survey said the quake&#8217;s centre was about 35km north east of the town of Luganville, just off the coast of the island province of Sanma, about 8.45pm Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department (VMGD) reports the quake occurred at a depth of 88km.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The US Tsunami Warning Centre said there is no tsunami threat associated with the quake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation reported there was significant damage to a supermarket on the island.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Pictured of the Santo Nambawan Store showed shelves toppled onto the ground and aisles of products smashed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Authorities are assessing the damage and there is still a risk of aftershocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Just a few days ago a large quake struck near Tonga which is just west of Vanuatu.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-f68f429c46f42cd3\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107523027-15690937-image-a-18_1774866654460.jpg\" height=\"440\" width=\"634\" alt=\"The magnitude 7.3 quake struck the Pacific nation of Vanuatu about 8.45pm Monday\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">The magnitude 7.3 quake struck the Pacific nation of Vanuatu about 8.45pm Monday<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-8896571331859473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107523429-15690937-image-a-19_1774866677475.jpg\" height=\"476\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Local news reported authorities are assessing damage on the island province of Sanma\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Local news reported authorities are assessing damage on the island province of Sanma<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-d1a24ccad6eaef54\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107523433-15690937-image-m-21_1774866689638.jpg\" height=\"665\" width=\"634\" alt=\"The supermarket on the island was hit hard with shelves toppled over\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">The supermarket on the island was hit hard with shelves toppled over<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">It is unclear if there has been damage on any of the other nearby islands as many are remote with limited communications.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The chairman of Sanma province has called an urgent meeting for Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>                    Share or comment on this article:<br \/>\n                        Huge magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes Australia&#8217;s neighbour<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Published: 06:40 EDT, 30 March 2026 | Updated: 06:41 EDT, 30 March 2026 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