Earthquake

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 21.0175 degrees south latitude and 173.5579 degrees east longitude. Enditem     

Disaster management officials said the death toll may increase.

Images on social media showed people in the city of Quetta out on the streets in the aftermath of the quake.

Initial reports indicated that it may have measured up to 5.7 on the Richter scale. A government official said people died when structures collapsed.

Local officials told BBC Urdu that at least 150 others are thought to have been injured, with several of them rushed to hospital in critical condition.

No tsunami warning was issued due to the depth of the quake, said the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.

The quake, which was upgraded from a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, was at a depth of 531 km (329 miles), EMSC said.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damages from the earthquake.

The man died when the dome of a church that was being renovated in the town of Arkalochori caved in.

People were sent rushing out on to the streets when the earthquake struck at 09:17 (06:17 GMT).

Many buildings were damaged and some reduced to piles of rubble from the initial quake and strong aftershocks.

People who live in damaged, older buildings are being advised to stay outdoors.

Some 2,500 tents were set up to house those who could not safely return to their homes on Monday, government minister Christos Stylianidis told Greece's Ant1 news.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake hit on Wednesday 18 August 2021 at 9:10 pm local time at an intermediate depth of 84 km.

The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.

Rescuers are picking through rubble in a desperate search for any survivors.

Homes, churches and schools were among buildings flattened in the quake. Some hospitals were left overwhelmed and in need of supplies.

An unknown number of people are missing and about 5,700 have been injured, officials say.

The disaster compounds problems facing the impoverished nation, which is already reeling from a political crisis following the assassination of its president last month.

The clock, stored in a Buddhist temple, was submerged by the tsunami on Japan's north-eastern coast that followed the devastating earthquake, which killed more than 18,000 people in March 2011.

Its owner, Bunshun Sakano, then tried to fix the clock, without success.

But when a smaller quake hit 10 years later, he says it began working again.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, the spring-driven clock was stored in the Fumonji Temple in Yamamoto, in Japan's Miyagi region. Miyagi and neighbouring Fukushima were badly hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

 The local Geo-Hazards Department says the tremor was centred west of Port Vila at a depth of around 37km.

The department said it was one of a number of aftershocks from a previous 5.3 earthquake felt early on Monday morning.

There have been no reports of damage but staff from the department said it was strong enough to shake buildings.

Geoscience Australia says the quake, which struck early this morning, had an epicentre 400 kilometres east of the town of Tadine.

Seismic data indicates the undersea earthquake struck at a depth of 54 kilometres.

Several aftershocks of up to magnitude 6.1 have occurred.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System says hazardous tsunami waves up to a level of 1 metre above the normal tide level are possible for coasts within 1-thousand kilometres of the epicentre with New Caledonia, Vanuatu particularly at risk.

The death toll has now risen to 73, including five members of one family.

Thousands of people left homeless are living in makeshift shelters, and there are fears of a Covid outbreak there.

In recent days Indonesia has endured deadly landslides, the loss of a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 with 62 people on board, and a volcanic eruption.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, and the country has a history of devastating earthquakes and tsunamis. More than 2,000 people were killed in a quake in Sulawesi in 2018.