Earthquake in Vanuatu Islands: 7.0 magnitude quake strikes, no tsunami threat issued

Earthquake in Vanuatu Islands: An earthquake of magnitude 7 struck the ‌Vanuatu Islands on Monday, March 30, foreign media reported, citing the ​German Research Centre ⁠for ​Geosciences (GFZ). It was at ​a ​depth ⁠of 130 ​km (80 miles). However, there was no tsunami threat from the earthquake, the US Tsunami Warning Center informed.

On a separate note, a 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck Tajikistan on Monday, according to a statement from the National Center for Seismology (NCS). The epicentre was at a depth of 146 kilometres, said ANI. In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.5, On: 30/03/2026 07:45:46 IST, Lat: 37.158 N, Long: 71.861 E, Depth: 146 Km, Location: Tajikistan."

Earlier on March 26, another earthquake of magnitude 3.9 had struck the region at a depth of 27 kilometres. In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 3.9, On: 26/03/2026 23:37:45 IST, Lat: 38.542 N, Long: 73.187 E, Depth: 27 Km, Location: Tajikistan."

Earthquakes can occur anywhere from the Earth's surface to about 700 kilometres below. For scientific purposes, according to USGS data, earthquake depths from 0 to 700 kilometres are divided into three zones:

• shallow - earthquakes occur between 0 and 70 kilometres in depth
• medium - earthquakes occur between 70 and 300 kilometres in depth
• deep - earthquakes occur between 300 and 700 kilometres in depth

In general, earthquakes with depths greater than 70 kilometres are called "deep-centre earthquakes," according to the USGS.