- An earthquake of 7.3 M at a depth of 57 km occurred in the sea area east of the island of Efate, central Vanuatu on 17 December at 01.47 UTC (12.47 local time). The epicentre was approximately 30 km east of Port-Vila city, the capital of Vanuatu, in Shefa province on Efate island.
- The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami threat, a maximum tsunami height of 0.25 m was observed south-west of Port Vila city. The tsunami threat was later cancelled.
USGS PAGER estimates that up to 65,000 people were exposed to severe shaking and 27,000 to very strong shaking. The earthquake is expected to have high humanitarian impact based on the magnitude, the affected population and their vulnerability. - According to media reports, one person died and several buildings have been damaged, including buildings hosting foreign missions and embassies, several landslides have been triggered by the earthquake blocking some roads.
- National authorities are conducting the damage assessment.
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