The Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada (SHOA), the Chilean Navy's hydrographic and oceanographic service, ruled out a tsunami threat to Chile's coasts on Friday night, following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific, in Oceania.
According to La Tercera, SHOA announced the decision on its website. The Servicio Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres (Senapred), Chile's national disaster prevention and response agency, shared the notice on its social media accounts.
The Navy agency explained that "the characteristics of the earthquake do not meet the conditions necessary to generate a tsunami on the coasts of Chile", according to the quote reported by Meganoticias.
The earthquake struck at 23:31, mainland Chile time, 247 kilometers northwest of the town of Luganville. The sources differ on when the announcement was made: La Tercera places it on Friday night, while Meganoticias reports it in the early hours of Saturday.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was located at a depth of 10 kilometers. Shortly after the main quake, a magnitude 6.3 aftershock was recorded in the same area.
The sources do not report damage or casualties in Vanuatu, nor any additional specific recommendations for Chile's coastal population. With SHOA's ruling, no tsunami precautions are in effect along the Chilean coastline.
