7.8 earthquake struck off the Santa Cruz Islands

Santa Cruz Island is located about 20 miles from the mainland coast, and travel time from Ventura Harbor.

Santa Cruz Islands

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck off the Santa Cruz Islands in the Pacific Ocean yesterday, triggering a tsunami warning for several nations in the region.

The quake hit at 9:03 a.m. local time at a depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles), about 260 kilometers south of Lata on the Santa Cruz Islands and 295 kilometers north-northwest of Vanuatu, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned the following cities Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Kiribati, Wallis-Futuna and Howland-Baker. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Vanuatu is a group of 83 islands in the southwestern Pacific to the west of Samoa and northwest of Fiji. It has an international offshore financial center and is a popular tourist destination.