6.3 earthquake

There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties from the quake, which the agency said hit at a depth of 17km, about 475km north of the island of Santo, on Tuesday (local time).

That is between Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.

There was no tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat put into place.

The USGS had earlier placed the quake location east of the Solomon Islands provincial capital of Kira-Kira.

It said the quake, which struck after 11pm local time on Saturday, was measured at a depth of 60km.

In a brief statement, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said: "Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected."