The wide scale Pacific tsunami warning triggered by a powerful quake between Solomon Islands and Vanuatu has been lifted, but the warning prompted evacuations in a number of island countries.
A journalist at the Vanuatu Independent newspaper, Hilaire Bile, said schools on the island of Santo, closest to the quake, were closed and people moved into the hills.
In Vanuatu’s capital, Port Villa, Businesses were closed and people fled from the market place.
The local authorities in New Caledonia were evacuating people from the island’s eastern shore, and from the nearby Loyalty Islands to higher ground.
Residents of Tuvalu were also ordered to evacuate from areas close to the sea.
In Papua New Guinea, officials went on radio to alert people to the tsunami warning and tell them, to stay away from coastal areas.
Meanwhile a powerful earthquake has hit in the Celebes Sea area between the Southern Philippines and Indonesia, but no tsunami warning was issued.
The US Geological Survey said the six point seven magnitude quake occurred at the depth of almost 600 kilometers.
There have been no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
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Evacuation warning prompts in many Island countries
