Vanuatu Quake Measured Strong 6.1 Magnitude; No Tsunami Warning, No Reported Damage

A Vanuatu quake shook the small tropical island on Thursday, Feb. 28, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, but luckily it did not cause any damage or spark a tsunami.

Godwin Ligo, a reporter at the Trading Post newspaper, said he felt his office building in the capital Port Vila shake and sway. He went on to say that he wasn't aware of any major problems caused by the quake, according to the AP.

The ocean quake struck Vanuatu began at a depth of 9 miles (15 km), 104 km west of the capital Port Villa at 2:09 pm local time, according to the AP.

Geoscience Australia measured the quake at 5.9, and said that it was unlikely to have caused any damage.

Vanuatu lies on the "Pacific Ring of Fire," a high-activity seismic zone. All of the activity is caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates. The 'Ring of Fire' stretches from the South Pacific Ocean near Oceania up to Japan, and then goes around the southern coast of Alaska, the Western United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Most of the world's earthquakes occur within this hot zone. On average, the magnitude of the seismic quakes registers at 7.0 or above.

Vanuatu has been hit by several large quakes in recent years, including a recent one in 2011. No one was hurt in that quake, either.

However earlier this month, an earthquake hit an island near Vanuatu called the Solomon Islands, causing a tsunami to wipe out villages and kill three people.